The last refuge of Arab scoundrels is...sectarianism and religious identities. Ahmad Chalabi was a secularist until he moved to Iraq and discovered how unpopular he is. Now he operates in the shadow of Muqtada As-Sadr and the Ayatollahs. And Kanan Makiyya (who actually predicted--based on his keen knowledge of Iraqi public opinion) that Iraqi people would greet US occupation troops with "sweets and flowers" wrote an article in Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat last week (he must have written it in English as his Arabic, like the Arabic of Fouad Ajami is rather weak) in which he underlined his Shi`ite affiliation. He also never miss an opportunity to praise Grand (not really) Ayatollah Sistani. I do not understand how any leftist or secularist could praise an Ayatollah.