The New York Times on April 9 cited unnamed former U.S. intelligence officials who said the CIA "was never able to get solid estimates of the number of Shiite fighters involved in Hezbollah or the Islamic resistance that eventually forced the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon." Why? "Those former officials pointed out that the practice of Taqiyya -- dissembling about one's religion, especially in times of danger -- is particular to Shiism. That particular tradition has made Shiite groups extremely difficult for intelligence officers to penetrate, the former CIA officers said."

 In February, Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post correspondent Anthony Shadid cited Iraqis who attributed the practice of taqiyya to the Grand Ayatollah himself. "Many of Sistani's followers," wrote Shadid, "describe his reticence in the years under Hussein as a version of taqiyya."

 Sistani's Web site lists his published and unpublished works. Poignantly, a work entitled, "A Treatise on 'Taqiyya' (precaution)," is listed as not printed yet.

 In June, Sistani issued a fatwa insisting that only Iraqis elected by Iraqis could draft an Iraqi constitution. This scuttled plans for an appointed council to draft a constitution.

 In November, he rejected an alternative plan for local caucuses to elect an interim government that would write the constitution. Abdul Aziz Hakim, a Sistani ally on the Iraqi Governing Council, explained one of the ayatollah's objections: "There should have been a stipulation which prevents legislating anything that contradicts Islam in the new Iraq."

 Sistani has since refused to endorse the interim constitution adopted by the Iraqi Governing Council, which includes many liberalizing reforms and gives Iraq's Kurdish minority at least a fighting chance to reject a permanent constitution it does not like.

 Each step of the way, our overall strategy for dealing with Sistani has been similar to the officer's in Najaf -- practical, not ideological. That's OK, as long as we don't lose sight of the one practical thing we can't leave Baghdad without: a stable government that won't threaten its neighbors or the United States of America.