Iraqi Shiites Fight For Syrian Government -- Washington Post
BAGHDAD — The Iraqi fighters in the video shoulder assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades as they walk down a highway lined with cypress trees. Grinning, some hold up cellphones and camcorders to capture the moment — the aftermath of a victorious battle to secure the Aleppo airport from Syrian rebels who had attempted to take it.
“You are the sons of Iraq and the sons of Islam!” shouts one of their commanders. The men cheer.
Weeks later in Baghdad, Abu Sajad, the nom de guerre of an Iraqi militia commander who appears in the video, proudly displayed it as proof that Iraqi Shiites are playing a critical role supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in what has become an increasingly sectarian and regional war. It was impossible to verify the location in the video or the circumstances.
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My Comment: Giving diplomatic support to the Syrian government. Permitting Iranian overflights of weapons to Syria. Using the military to remove anti-Assad forces on the Iraqi side of the Syrian-Iraq border. And now permitting Iraqi Shiites to go and fight for the Syrian regime ....from this observer it is clear that Baghdad has made the strategic decision to support Assad .... but I suspect that this support is going to have a cost.