By William Tucker
Chief Correspondent for In Homeland Security
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy conducted a panel on Shia militias Friday entitled “The Fight against ISIL: Shiite Militias and the Coalition Effort.” This panel comes on the heels of the publication of Philip Smyth’s excellent monograph The Shia Jihad in Syria and its Regional Effects.
Though the discussion of the war in Syria and Iraq has focused on the Islamic State, it is important to redirect focus to the situation that allowed ISIL to run rampant in the first place.
Iran has worked feverishly to save the Assad regime when it was on its back heels, not because Iran fully supports Assad’s regime, rather they have a vested interest in spreading their own influence regionally.
In pursuit of this agenda, Iran has used the protection of Shia religious sites as a battle cry to recruit Shia Muslims to join various militias. Though not all of the Shia militias fall directly under Iranian auspices, Tehran has used various methods to obfuscate who really controls these activities.
Smyth demonstrates this masterfully by calling attention to the disconnect between Grand Ayatollah Sistani in Iraq and the government in Iran.
For more on his topic, I recommend watching today’s panel at the Washington Institute here.
Comments are closed.