Al-Hakim, a pragmatist who met President Bush at the White House in January 2004, leads the United Iraqi Alliance, backed by Shi'a leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has seemed unwilling to challenge the United States head-on about crafting a timetable for its military withdrawal. Instead, he has advocated a policy of negotiation to secure the departure of coalition forces from Iraq once a formal Iraqi government has been created.
Ahead of Iraq's Jan. 30 elections, al-Hakim surprised few by claiming the No. 1 position on the United Iraqi Alliance, a coalition of Iraqi political groups, including SCIRI.
But despite his top billing in the victorious alliance, al-Hakim has said he has no intention of becoming Iraq's prime minister. At the very least, he is expected to provide political guidance to the dominant alliance, and in turn, the new Iraqi National Assembly that his ticket is expected to dominate. |
