Review Iraq’s Shia Warlords And Their Militias: Political And Security Challenges And Options

Cigar, Norman, Iraq’s Shia Warlords And Their Militias: Political And Security Challenges And Options, Strategic Studies Institute, 2015

 

Norman Cigar’s Iraq’s Shia Warlords And Their Militias: Political And Security Challenges And Options is a very short book about the emergence of the Hashd al-Shaabi in Iraq after the 2014 fall of Mosul. The author’s thesis is that the Hashd were here to stay in the country as a military, political and religious force although it was also deeply divided into rival factions.

 

Cigar tracks the origins of the Hashd to the Shiite militia mobilization to support the Assad government in Syria. In 2011 the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force commander General Qasim Soleimani organized its Iraqi militia allies to send forces to Syria to support the government there which was Tehran’s ally. The Maliki government tacitly supported the deployment fearing a Sunni Islamist take over next door. All of those forces would then return to Iraq to fight the Islamic State after the June 2014 fall of Mosul and a call by the leading Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani for Iraqis to defend their country.

 

The book then goes into the recruiting, the organization, and the rivalries within the new force called the Hashd al-Shaabi. One of the main points was that the Hashd were not a unified force but rather a collection of organizations with different loyalties with many following Iran but others organized by the Shiite religious establishment in Najaf and Karbala or older Shiite leaders such as Moqtada al-Sadr and Ammar Hakim of the Supreme Council. That meant each unit went in their own direction during the war and there were deep rivalries between the various commanders. This continues to exist to the present day and has sometime led to fighting between different factions.

 

The author’s predictions for the future all came true. First the end of the war versus the Islamic State did not end the Hashd since they were embedded into the government from the start often being the militia of a political party. Second the Hashd would use their victories on the battlefield to increase their power in Iraq. Many ended up running in parliamentary elections and winning. Third, former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki attempted to forge alliances with the Hashd because he could see their potential. Those ties helped him form the current Iraqi government. Fourth, the Hashd would not relinquish control of the areas they liberated. Many districts became the fiefs of these units and were used to steal money from the government. There are many parts of Iraq that are empty of people because the Hashd did not let the Sunni population return feeling they were supporters of the Islamic State or because the place was considered important to their interests. Last, the rivalries between the factions would continue which would lead to violence. For instance, Sadr and his opponents have got into gun battles and assassinated each other. There have also been confrontations and shoot outs between Hashd units and the security forces.

 

Overall, Iraq’s Shia Warlords And Their Militias is a short introduction to the emergence of the Hashd. It provides background to their current position within Iraqi society and government. It’s a very quick read and touches on the main points of the factions and their importance to Iraq.

 

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