Iraq to deploy Shia militias into the Sunni dominated Anbar province. Yahoo/Reuters.

Iraqi soldiers firing mortars in Anbar province. Yahoo/Reuters. 

Iraq is preparing to deploy Shiite militias, sponsored by Iran, into the Sunni dominated Anbar province to fight ISIS. Yahoo/Reuters. The Shia militias have already played a decisive role in the fight against ISIS. They played a critical role in capturing the city of Tikrit back from ISIS. So far though, Iraq has avoided using the militias in the Sunni stronghold of Anbar province. The move could damage relations with the United States because of the militias strong ties to Iran. The militias also committed crimes in the capture of the city of Tikrit, including reprisal killings and the razing and looting. of Sunni homes. The situation in Anbar province is so out of control that the Shiite militias may be the only hope. 

My Comment:

I haven't heard much about the battles in Anbar lately. The last I heard there was a huge humanitarian crisis and Iraq was on the verge of losing the city of Ramadi. That was 10 days ago and I haven't heard anything since. Some googling shows that the battle there has basically become a stalemate, and that the battles in other Anbar province cities, like Fallujah, have been give and take. Neither side is winning but neither side has really made any gains either. 

In some ways that is a good thing. Obviously the city of Ramadi hasn't fallen yet, which is, of course, great news for Iraq. I'm not sure if they will keep it long term but at least they are holding it for now. And the mass refugee crisis caused by people fleeing the city seems to have subsided. That was a huge problem but Iraq seems to have solved it. 

But it is not all good news. Iraq isn't advancing or pushing ISIS back either. Iraq desperately needs to push ISIS out of these cities because a slow war of attrition hurts them more then it hurts ISIS. Iraq's military is barely holding together as it is, and they get weaker everyday, while ISIS seems to be able to replace their losses better. They also need to break the momentum that ISIS has gained in the past few months. They did lose Tikrit but they managed to push Ramadi to the brink and they have been having victories in Syria as well. 

Of course the only option Iraq has is to deploy the Shiite militias. That is not a great solution for the Iraqis, but it seems to be the only one they have. The Iraqi Army is all but finished as a fighting force. The don't have the stocks of well trained and highly motivated men that the militias do. Nobody else is going to send in troops either, so their only choice is to use these militias. Even if it angers the United States.

I've mentioned many, many times on this blog about how badly behaved these Shia militias are when they come into contact with Sunni civilians. Executions, looting and arson are the norm, not the exception. They really aren't that much better then ISIS when it comes to atrocities. To date most of their crimes have been inflicted on empty buildings that were already damaged in battle or captured ISIS fighters, but there have been incidents where they have targeted civilians as well. 

Now these same militias are going to be deployed into Sunni dominated cities. These cities aren't going to be abandoned and empty like Tikrit was. Sure, many people have fled from ISIS in Ramadi but there are still going to be people there. Not everyone is willing or able to leave. And it isn't clear at all how they will react to having a bunch of people that have a history of killing Sunni Muslims entering their city. For some the logical thing might be to join up with ISIS. ISIS is brutal and horrible but they tend to protect Sunni Muslims. If the choice is to join up with people that might kill you or join up with people that almost certainly will kill you, it's not a hard choice to make. 

Iraq's only hope is to somehow control these Shia militias while at the same time be completely dependent on them to win their battles. If they can pull that off I will be impressed. But it is much more likely that the Shiite militias go on a rampage and kill combatants and non-combatants alike. That will have serious implications for Iraq, possibly costing them their alliance with the United States. After all, it doesn't make sense to fight for people that are just as bad as ISIS...