Certainly, some officials, including Mr. Zurufi — who was appointed governor of Najaf in 2004 by L. Paul Bremer III, then the top American administrator in Iraq, and later elected to the post in 2009 — are pro-American, but the clerical establishment, which is less receptive to American influence, wields more power over the people.
Some influencers wield enormous power.
Being the sort of editor who wields power and influence at the apex of a newspaper is one thing.
Although Mr Murdoch, aged 82, shows little sign of stepping out of the limelight, there is a new generation of media bosses who are less flamboyant than their predecessors and more interested in making money than in wielding power and influence.
Human rights advocates fear that after many years of trying to hold the military accountable for past abuses, they have gotten dangerously close to officers past and present who still wield power and influence over the government of President Alfonso Portillo.
"A United States senator has significant tools with which to wield power and influence over the executive branch," Senator Pat Roberts, the Kansas Republican who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on Tuesday.
After the stress the new boys have been through just to get this far, it will be surprising if anyone else steps forward to join the band of merry men wielding power and influence in Formula One, the band they call the Piranha Club.
It's true that his critiques of those who wield power and influence can be withering - that's the central function of an effective critic or just a human being with a conscience - but one would be hard-pressed to find someone as prominent as he who is as steadfastly polite and considerate and eager to listen when it comes to interacting with those who are powerless and voiceless.
Mr Suthep has wielded power and influence in the Democrat Party for decades, serving as both agriculture and communication minister.
"The woman who, for so long, wielded power and influence in British public life must now begin preparing for her first court appearance".
Norcott continues: "I'm a satirist and satire has to be directed above all at people who wield power and influence - which can be different from being in political power.
