Ron... I didn't say Sistani was stupid, I said he was a manipulator.
Do you think if Sistani had adopted the stance of the radical Sadr, imposing elections would even have been attempted at this time?

Anything that I'v read suggests Sistani is a wily politician, and at the moment appears to be following a Softly Softly approach.

Sistani knows he needs to placate the Americans in the short term, but I agree with Dianavan that his mind is surely on the "long game"