Grand Ayatollah Sistani, the cleric who led Iraqis to vote, says he can't stop civil war.

Update below

Ron Fullwood at OpEdNews:

The Telegraph is reporting that Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has "abandoned attempts to restrain his followers" and no longer believes he can stand in the way of the growing civil war. "I will not be a political leader any more," he reportedly told aides. "I am only happy to receive questions about religious matters."

Sistani's departure from Iraq's political scene and his return to his religious role signals an end to the Maliki regime's attempt to consolidate power and sell his reconciliation plan to the myriad of warring factions who are engaged in armed and deadly struggles against his regime, and against each other as well. It was Sistani who brought the thousands of his followers to the polls, forcing Bush to make good on his promise of early elections.

[...]

One thing that's certain, however, is that Iraq is indeed poised for a complete breakdown along sectarian lines, whatever you want to call it, and a devolution into a full-scale battle for each faction's political and material survival. In an ominous sign of things to come, the Kurds have replaced the Iraqi flag they were flying with one of their own. Iraq is splitting apart.

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Update:
Read "He is very Angry" by Pat Lang at No Quarter

and "Sunday, September 03, 2006" by Juan Cole