打败伊斯兰国后 什叶派民兵变得强大起来

After Helping¹ Defeat Islamic State, Shiite Militias³ Grow Powerful

The capital of Iraq is known for its cultural center and book market. Now, Baghdad has a new place for visitors: a war museum. It honors the thousands of mainly Shiite militiamen who died fighting the Islamic State group.

The museum also shows the Iran-backed militias’ growing importance in the country. Their political and military power rose sharply after they helped the government defeat IS. Now they are accused of trying to build their own state within Iraq.

War museum

The museum is housed inside one of Baghdad’s historic buildings. It shows rocket launchers, drones and other weapons from the four-year fight with IS. Visitors can look through the items taken from the front lines, as well as personal items fighters left behind on the battlefield.

One recent visitor to the museum was a 55-year-old teacher named Umm Hassanin al-Oukeily. She expressed feeling very thankful for the militia². “I feel that Iraq exists because of them,” she said. They are like the beating heart of Iraq, she added.

Who are the militia?

The militia are mainly Shiite groups with close ties to Iran. They also include some Christian⁴, Yazidi and Sunni groups. Together they are known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, or “Hashed al-Shaabi” in Arabic.

They appeared following a call in June 2014 by Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. He asked for volunteers to fight against IS. Tens of thousands answered the cleric’s call.

At that time, Iraq’s military and security forces had collapsed⁵. Islamic State militants⁷ had taken the northern city of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest, and much of northern and western Iraq. Islamic State control came dangerously close to Baghdad and Shiite religious lands farther south. Desperate for a defense⁸, the Iraqi government accepted the militias as an important part of the fight against IS.

The militias lost about 7,000 fighters in the war. They came out of the war with the image of an almost holy force protecting Iraq’s Shiite Muslim majority.

Effect of the militia’s popularity

Their popularity has helped make the militias a major political and military player following the defeat of IS. Today, militias are present in almost every Iraqi province. In some areas, they are in local government. Pictures of dead fighters are shown in shop windows in Baghdad and other areas.

The 2018 parliamentary elections were the first after the victory over IS. The militias’ coalition⁹ won 48 seats, making it the second-largest bloc¹⁰ in Parliament. Their wins gave the militias a formal position in politics. Under the new budget, militiamen are for the first time being paid as soldiers.

But the mix of arms and political power is dangerous for Iraq because of its history of sectarian fighting. Iraq’s Sunni minority, the military, and the government fear the Shiite militias may control Iraq the way the powerful Revolutionary Guard does in Iran or the militant⁶ Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

A Western diplomat¹¹ in Baghdad who did not want to be named spoke¹² about his concerns. The Shiite militias “are building economic empires, taking control of state reconstruction¹³ companies and projects, and developing into economic organizations,” he said.

The more than 50 militias in Iraq have up to 140,000 fighters, according to some estimates and the Popular Mobilization Forces itself. They are backed by tanks and weapons, and have their own intelligence agency, operations room and court of law.

In an interview with the Associated Press last month, the leader of one of the most powerful of the militias, Qais al-Khazali, said their existence helps the Iraqi military. He suggested that the militias would remain a force as long as there’s an ongoing¹⁴ military threat to Iraq.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

drone – n. a type of small aircraft that flies without a pilot

booty – n. money or goods stolen or taken in war

cleric – n. a religious man

desperate – adj. having a strong need or desire for something or to do something

sectarian – adj. relating to religious or political sects¹⁵ and the differences between them

empire – n. a group of countries or regions that are controlled by one ruler or one government

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

3 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

7 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

11 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

14 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

15 sects   

n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had subdued the religious sects, cleaned up Saigon. 他压服了宗教派别，刷新了西贡的面貌。 来自辞典例句