Let's tell Sistani Sorry you were right and we were wrong so why don't you see if you can do a better job.

I am not joking. I am absolutely serious. I think this is the best way to end the war in Iraq. To be more specific, I think Iraq should have a ration card based election to elect a very powerful temporary transition president (VPTP). I am thinking of the approach of the Roman Republic to crises but I think "president" sounds better than "dictator". This VPTP would form a government to which sovereigny would be transferred quickly. Before calling such an election, we (Bremer) should ask Sistani to please run. If an only if he agrees, I would hold a first past the post one round election based on one ration card = two votes (for husband and wife) for VPTP. Recall that the imperfect ration card system seems to have advantages, or at least, that islamist have done very poorly in ration card based elections in Southern Iraq.

I am hoping that Sistani really meant it when he said he thought clergymen should stay out of politics. This is a hope not a guess, because, when he said that, the alternative was death. I am also hoping that Sistani not Moqtada al Sadr wins this election, that Sistani doesn't invite Moqtada al Sadr into a national unity government, that Sunni's accept a Shi'ite cleric as VPTP, that Sistani doesn't use his emergency powers to impose Sharia and a whole lot of other stuff.

In other words. I propose a desperate gamble. I think it is the best of a lot of bad options.