Iran’s direct military involvement in Iraq’s ongoing invasion of Tikrit is getting a lot of publicity, and US hawks are using it as an excuse to try to get US boots on the ground to compete for Iraq’s affections.
Iran’s gaining influence across Iraq, however, has less to go with their relatively small military involvement than with the rising influence of Shi’ite militias, many of which have long-standing ties to Iran.
The Badr Brigade is a prime example. Their leadership has had prime positions in Iraqi politics since the US occupation, with Nouri al-Maliki a former leader of the group. The notion they’d moved away from militia operations in favor of governance, however, is being radically dispelled.
Badr forces are now openly flying their flag in several key Sunni towns, and the “Sunni Triangle” so often talked about by US occupation forces is now dominated almost entirely by the single Shi’ite militia.
With the ISIS war putting the Iraqi government in jeopardy, the call to arms for Shi’ite militias had made them into an essential part of Iraq’s internal security operation.
But the problem is deeper than Iraqi officials care to admit, as the Shi’ite militias have been carrying out violent retribution killings against Sunnis on flimsy pretexts. That the Iraqi government denies these incidents reflects how dependent they are on these militias: they dare not cross them, even if they are violently undermining what remains of sectarian calm in the nation.
All of this is a recipe for even deeper dependence on Iran-backed militias to keep things together, and is alienating any potential Sunni Arab allies, ensuring that Iraq will continue to have to depend on Iran in the long run.
With due respect, I think there never has been and will not be any significant aid by Arab Sunnis (I assume you mean neighboring Sunni governments, not just Iraqi Sunnis) to the Iraqi government. I also question the accuracy of your and other US media reports about atrocities by Shia militia; not that it is not possible, but our media have so long been engaging in propaganda against Iran in particular and Shias in general, that I have grown very skeptical about stories of this kind. By way of comparison, it is generally the received truth by our media that the Venezuelan government has been brutalizing peaceful demonstrators of the political opposition; when in fact my daily reading of even opposition Venezuelan on-line newspapers for the past decade has made clear to me that there have been almost ZERO incidents of government force against truly peaceful demonstrators, while the violence has been deliberately generated by armed (and usually masked) street fighters using Molotov cocktails, home-made bazookas, rocks and firearms against law enforcement officers attempting to stop the street violence sponsored by opposition political leaders. This is apparent from photographs and videos of opposition newspapers (who do their best to slant the news against the government, but are unable to avoid depicting the violence by so-called "peaceful demonstrators" and "students" who are seen setting fire to public buses, private gasoline tank-trucks, public health clinics, etc., etc.. Unfortunately, your publication (while it is essential and I support it financially) does a lousy job getting at the truth in Latin America — where in fact our US Government continues to subvert and attempt to overthrow democratically elected governments in Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil and elsewhere. I recognize you're very busy trying to cover the entire planet, but you need to get a clue as to the anti-democratic, pro-war activities that our Government unfortunately persists in conducting almost everywhere south of the Rio Grande.
To — richard young
You support this program financially while seeking to destroy it verbally, is that not the definition of hypocrisy?
You burn up our emotional capital by rehashing all the horrors of the problem, but say not a word about the root cause or solution, is that not the definition of mainstream media brainwash?
What the fuck are you talking about?
as Shi’ite Militias Seize Sunni Territory in Iraq .. not so fast.. Sunnis are helping Sh'ites to FREE Sunnis from IS/US.
Today's nooz, (FARS), not Fuxx Nooz, naturally, yank, mossad and arab captured near Mosul helping IS. Little wonder the insane yanks are upset not getting involved in Tikrit, nor will they be involved for Mosul. They wanted the same sham as their bombing.. (The Jordanian pilot shot down.. was bombing a brickworks.. not IS)!!
If the name of a poster is confusing, then so will be their comment confusing, for their goal is generate an atmosphere most hostile, unfriendly and confusing.