Oh, Oh. This May Not be Pretty

Sistani is coming back to Iraq...and he's apparently pissed at the United States, i.e. the Steely-Eyed Stuffed Flightsuited Manly Man who skipped out on fightin' the Cong (SESFMMWSOOFTC), aka, "the Chimp".

Iraq's most influential Shi'ite cleric will return to the country within hours and wants Iraqis to march on the "burning city" of Najaf, where fresh fighting erupted near a sacred shrine on Wednesday.

Cleric Aides to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani refused to say when he would arrive or if he would go straight to his home in Najaf after getting heart treatment in London for three weeks.

The news of his imminent return came as U.S. and Iraqi forces tightened their grip around Mehdi Army militants loyal to a rebel cleric who have holed up in Najaf's Imam Ali mosque.

The call to march on Najaf by the Shi'ite moderate, who has said little about a crisis that has killed hundreds and undermined the authority of interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, could escalate passions among the majority Shi'ite community.

"Najaf is burning. Ayatollah al-Sistani is on his way back and calls on Iraqis from all provinces to join him in the holy city," aide Hamed al-Khafaf said by telephone from Beirut.

It will be interesting to see what Professor Cole has to say about this, but I cannot imagine it is necessary a predictable thing.

One wonders what Sistani is going to think when he sees how Najaf is looking after a seige of nearly a month.