I think the biggest thing to take from this VICE News documentary is that you shouldn’t be cheering for these Shia militias in their fight against ISIS, and if you fought in Baghdad during the Surge or after, you would know what type of absolute scumbags these guys are.
Yes, ISIS is bad, but these dudes really aren’t much better. So they didn’t execute the journalist Langston, but they were clearly using him as a propaganda outlet, complete with a staged battle followed by victory song at the beginning of the video. These groups have and will continue to commit murderous mass atrocities on unarmed Iraqis for the sake of their religious differences. Those acts, overlooked by an exclusive Shia government, are a large reason for the Islamic State’s success in recruiting.
The sectarian war between Sunni and Shia is one without honor or end.
I’d like to point out the scene in which one of the militants says that the Americans are still their enemy. While that is understandable, I’m pretty sure there is a saying about biting the hand that feeds you and it resulting in a hell-fire missile landing on your position. Not only did we put Shias into power in Iraq, we are now supplying their fight against the Islamic State. So yeah, keep blaming America when it was your fault that your state failed. You might as well hand your country over to Iran. ~Will
