Iran backed Shia milita units now outnumber regular army troops in Iraq. Washington Post

Iran backed militants. Washington Post/European Pressphoto Agency.

Iranian backed Shia militias now outnumber regular Iraqi army units in the fight against ISIS. Washington Post. The militias count 100,000 to 120,000 men while the demoralized and depleted Iraqi Army only counts 48,000 troops. Such a huge number of religiously motivated troops threatens reconciliation between the Sunnis and Shias. There is also major concern that Iraq will fall completely into Iran's sphere of influence. Many of these militia groups are openly affiliated with Iran. This has also put the Untied States in the unenviable position of having to support troops affiliated with their enemy. Many militia groups and fighters were directly involved in fighting the United States during the 2nd Iraq War. Though ISIS has committed more then their fair share of atrocities, the militias have committed quite a few of their own. 

My Comment:

The most interesting thing about this report is the numbers of Iraqi troops left. The battle in Mosul completely destroyed the Iraqi Army as an effective fighting force. With only 48,000 regular troops left, along with 36,000 federal cops and a handful of special forces and border units, the Iraq Army has lost thousands of troops. Some were killed but most of them either deserted or, even worse, joined with the enemy. Without these Shia militias, and the Kurds in the north, Iraq would have fallen to ISIS a long time ago. 

This is, as the article pointed out, very bad news. Iraq is dependent on people who have loyalties to other governments for their defense. That is never a situation that ends well for anyone. If and when ISIS is defeated, Iraq will have no way to get rid of these Shia militants, and won't be able to take care of the Kurds in the North as well.

The thing that most Americans don't realize about the Iraq war is how sectarian it is. It isn't ISIS versus Iraq, it is Sunni vs Shia, or rather Sunni versus everything else. Many Sunni people don't like ISIS and are rightly terrified of them, but are even more afraid of Iran and Shia Islam. With the militia's policy of not taking prisoners and burning down villages, it isn't too surprising that Sunni Muslims don't trust the intentions of the Iraqi government. Of course ISIS never would have had as much success in Iraq in the first place if the government of Nouri al-Maliki wasn't so anti-Sunni. In short, this situation was inevitable. With no unity government and Sunnis getting kicked out of power, if it hadn't been ISIS some other Sunni group would have risen up against the Shia led government.