THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA AND ITS REGIONAL EFFECTS

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A CRONYMS AAH HHN HTI ISCI ISIS KH-SDS KSS LAAG LAFA LAIY LIH NDF PCMDSZ QQAFA RRF SSNP Asaib Ahl al-Haqq Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba Harakat al-Talia al-Islamiyah Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham Kataib Hezbollah–Saraya al-Difa al-Shabi Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada Liwa Assad Allah al-Ghalib Liwa Abu Fadl al-Abbas Liwa Ammar ibn Yasir Liwa al-Imam al-Hussein National Defense Forces Popular Committee for the Mobilization to Defend Sayyeda Zainab Qaeda Quwet Abu Fadl al-Abbas Rapid Reaction Forces Syrian Social Nationalist Party iv
1 Introduction <strong>THE</strong> <strong>SYRIA</strong>N CIVIL WAR, which began in earnest at the end of 2011, has become a regional and arguably a sectarian conflict. 1 Throughout 2012 and early 2013, claims that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was “losing control” to primarily Sunni rebel forces were common in Western and Middle East media sources. 2 Reports streamed in showing that the Assad regime had lost control of border posts with Iraq and that the embattled leader may even have lost the support of its key ally Russia. 3 By the spring of 2014, Syria and Iraq had essentially become a joined front, including thousands of combatants, millions of displaced persons and refugees, along with the involvement of multitudes of global actors. Yet at the time of this writing in late 2014, Assad has not only survived, but forces supportive of his rule have retaken and secured wide swaths of territory. How did such a feat occur? Foreign fighters were central to both the rapid turnaround on the front and the Assad regime’s continued survival. In line with the influx of anti- Assad foreign fighters into Iraq and Syria, much research and coverage has focused on Sunni jihadists—so much so that the term “foreign fighter” has become a virtual synonym for Sunni jihadist. 4 Just as pivotal as the Sunni jihadists, however, if less frequently covered, are the thousands of Shiite jihadist fighters who have mobilized in opposition to their Sunni foes. These fighters have come primarily from Iraq and Lebanon, but also from other countries. Indeed, what may have appeared to be a disjointed or even organic flow of Shiite fighters into Syria, ostensibly to defend the country’s Shiite holy sites, was actually a highly organized geostrategic and ideological effort by Iran to protect its ally in Damascus and project power within Syria, Iraq, and across the Middle East. The aid these Shiite jihadist fighters have provided to the Assad regime represents just one of their accomplishments. Far more significant has been the underlying creation and development of new front groups, a trend that 1
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Page 3 and 4: POLICY FOCUS 138 THE SHIITE JIHAD I
Page 5: C ONTENTS Acronyms | iv 1 Introduct
Page 9 and 10: 2 The Narrative of Jihad SINCE THE
Page 11 and 12: THE NARRATIVE OF JIHAD n 5 a useful
Page 13 and 14: THE NARRATIVE OF JIHAD n 7 An Open
Page 15 and 16: THE NARRATIVE OF JIHAD n 9 al-Amin,
Page 17 and 18: THE NARRATIVE OF JIHAD n 11 In a Fe
Page 19 and 20: 3 Call to Jihad: Clerical Views of
Page 21 and 22: CALL TO JIHAD n 15 During his publi
Page 23 and 24: CALL TO JIHAD n 17 direct Iranian m
Page 25 and 26: CALL TO JIHAD n 19 al-Sadr contradi
Page 27 and 28: 4 Building an Army for Zainab REPRE
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JOINING OF FRONTS n 51 members. 262
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JOINING OF FRONTS n 53 Darraji’s
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7 Policy Recommendations AS THE UNI
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POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS n 57 such na
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NOTES AND SOURCES n 59 Revolutionar
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NOTES AND SOURCES n 61 33. Hassan H
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NOTES AND SOURCES n 63 June 15, 200
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NOTES AND SOURCES n 65 79. Ibid. 80
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NOTES AND SOURCES n 67 110. “Sama
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NOTES AND SOURCES n 69 137. Mamuri
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NOTES AND SOURCES n 71 172. May 16,
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NOTES AND SOURCES n 73 205. Michael
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NOTES AND SOURCES n 75 233. Jacob Z
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NOTES AND SOURCES n 77 com/63568782
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NOTES AND SOURCES n 79 294. “Al-M
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Richar
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