Iraq's militias aren't just Iranian proxies; that helps explain their troubles

By Published: April 9, 2021
NASIRIYAH, Iraq — When the call came to fight the Islamic State, the lines of volunteers here stretched for blocks. Friends pooled money to pay for transportation to local militia recruitment offices. Young men were already scrambling onto buses bound for the front lines.
As the Iraqi army melted away, it fell often to the mostly Shiite Muslim militias to turn back and rout the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State. For many in the city of Nasiriyah, it felt like a battle for Iraq's soul.
"Back then, it was just about one thing," said former militiaman Thamer al-Safi, recalling the battles of 2014 in which two of his brothers died. "This was about our future. This was about Iraq."

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