Shi'ites vs Shi'ites in Iraq

From Reuters via YahooNews:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A power struggle in
Iraq between powerful Shi'ite factions could complicate efforts to stabilize the country as it heads toward a referendum on its new draft constitution, officials said.

Clashes that erupted last week between supporters of a powerful Shi'ite party in the governing coalition and militiamen loyal to a maverick Shi'ite cleric brought into public view long-standing faultlines in Iraqi politics.

What an incredible mess! Our best-case scenario for Iraq has gone from

• The Iraqis will welcome us as liberators, and will become a peaceful, model democracy.

to

• The Shi'ites and Kurds will eagerly welcome democracy, while the Sunnis might resent their loss of status.

to

• It'll be a war of every group against every other group.

[update] Just another comment: For years, the complaint conservatives have had with liberals is that they never allow for unintended consequences. Liberals think that it is enough for your intentions to be noble. With the war in Iraq, it seems that the worst tendencies of liberals have infected the neocons...