David Rieff writes a long article on the Shiites for the New York Times Magazine. It is a good read, full of interesting background and information. Someone, at some point, will have to respond to the cleric Sistani when he says that "If one man one vote is good enough for the Americans, why isn’t it good enough for the Iraqis," by telling him the truth: It isn’t good enough for us, never has been; explain the architecture of the Constitution, separation of powers, federalism, representation, and so on. This will be interesting. I remind you that Robert Alt will be in Iraq by the end of the month and he will be sending back regular dispatches. More detail later.