Another Stunning Bush Policy Development in Iraq

exposed the growing power of anti-American fundamentalists within the new Iraqi Parliament.

The selection of Mr. Jaafari, a moderate Islamist ... NOTICE WHAT THEY CALL "MODERATE"

But in recent days followers of the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr threw their support to Mr. Jaafari, who won 64 to 63 in a secret ballot this morning after efforts to reach a consensus failed. Mr. Sadr's followers decided to vote for Mr. Jaafari after he promised to implement their political program, said Bahaa al-Aaraji, a sitting member of Parliament and spokesman for the movement.

In recent visits to Iran and Syria, Mr. Sadr has expressed solidarity with the leaders of those countries and angry opposition to American policy toward them. Mr. Sadr also commands the Mahdi Army, a broad-based militia that has been mostly quiet since 2004, but is still armed and controls the streets in large areas of southern Iraq and eastern Baghdad.

Mr. Jaafari's government has been particularly unpopular with Sunni Arabs, who have accused the Interior Ministry of backing death squads that have rounded up and executed hundreds of Sunnis in Baghdad and elsewhere in recent months.Mr. Jaafari fled Iraq in 1980 and spent years living in Iran, where he forged close ties with Iranian leaders, like many other members of his Dawa Party.

Since Mr. Jaafari became prime minister last year, suicide bombings and assassinations have surged, and oil production and exports have plummeted. Some Iraqi leaders, including fellow Shiites, have said he was not decisive enough for the job. Others said he allowed Shiite militias to infiltrate Iraq's police and military, leading to a rash of sectarian killings that have harmed efforts to draw Iraq's Sunni insurgents into the political process.