During WWII, the U.S. Department of War produced a seven-part series of propaganda films titled ‘why we fight.’ This essay addresses why Shiʿa militias fight the United States. I have used a visual to depict the origins and spread of anti-Americanism in West Asia. I have adapted a medical analogy first used—in a different context—by Lt. Col. (Dr.) David Kilcullen (Australian Army) in Accidental Guerilla (Oxford, 2009, p. 35.). The analogy is imperfect, but makes the concept easy to grasp. The four phases are infection, contagion, intervention, and rejection.
Infection: Until WWII, Britian was the hegemon in West Asia. The U.S. had minor presence in West Asia before the war, principally in the oil sector. This changed with America’s entry into WWII after Pearl Harbor (7 Dec 1941). The Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi (1924–41), was deposed in 1941, but not before being subjected to a malicious campaign by the British, who founded BBC Persian for this specific purpose. Neutral Iran was invaded and occupied by Britain and the Soviet Union in August 1941. Reza Shah was exiled. His son, Muhammad Reza Shah (1941–79), was installed to serve Britain’s interests. American troops occupied southern Iran in 1942. During the Allied occupation (1941–46), the Iranian people’s energy and agricultural wealth was plundered by the Allies. Famine and disease caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iranians.
Contagion: Washington’s policy toward West Asian powers was shaped by the Cold War; hence Turkey’s accession to NATO. Access to energy resources was another major factor in shaping policy. Iran’s elected Prime Minister, Dr. Muhammad Mosaddeq, nationalized Iran’s oil and gas resources in 195i, which angered the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (later called BP). The Brits co-opted Americans to oust Mosaddeq; hence, Operation Ajax, the CIA and SIS coup of 15–19 August 1953. Washington’s policy toward West Asia’s despots was shaped by the philosophy, ‘he may be a bastard, but he’s our bastard.’ Muhammad Reza Shah was ‘our bastard.’
Intervention: Muhammad Reza Shah got the boot in 1979 in a broad revolution that encompassed peoples from every strata of Iranian society. Iranian enmity toward the U.S. was further shaped by the Iran-Iraq War (1980–88), where a U.S.-led European and Arab coalition supplied Saddam Hussein with weapons—including the German favorite, chemical weapons. Until then, Iran had been winning. The U.S.-led coalition prolonged the war for years, and caused misery and death for Sunni and Shiʿa Iranians and Iraqis; and widespread destruction in contested regions of Iraq and Iran, and as far away as Tehran, which was struck by Iraqi missiles. Israel’s invasion of Lebanon (1982–2000) gave birth to Hizballah and Amal, two Shiʿa resistance groups. After 9/11, the U.S. expanded its presence in West Asia by adding bases in Bahrain (seaport, 2003; air base, 2009), Kuwait (12 to 13 bases by 2023/04), and UAE (al-Dhafra, 2002); expanding U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia and Qatar; and invading Iraq (2003). Expansion of bases in Persian Gulf was a threat to the security of Iran given Bush’s ‘Axis of Evil’ speech of 29 January 2002. U.S. bases were added along Iran-Afghanistan border to threaten Iran. The Syrian War (2011–present) witnessed U.S. support for ‘rebels’ and the birth of ISIS. IRGC and Shiʿa militias reduced ISIS, but thousands of Iranian, Afghan, Syria, Iraqi, and Lebanese Shiʿa lives were lost in the fight. A widely-held view among Shiʿa militias is that ISIS is supported by US; and that USAF is ISIS’s air wing. By the by, Hamas, fought on same side as ISIS against Shiʿa militias.
Rejection: This is the phase we are in now. Containment has ended. It is manifest that IDF is adept at bombing babies, children, women, infirm, elderly, hospitals, kindergartens, schools, homes, refugee camps, tents, UN, etc.; but incompetent at fighting armed combatants in urban territory. It is clear to peoples of West Asia—not just Shiʿa groups—that absent endless streams of funds and munitions from the U.S., IDF will be unable to continue its onslaught on Gaza. Tel Aviv will be forced to make peace with Hamas—a peace that could be the foundation for a two-state solution.
Analysis
Ansarallah (Houthis) have stated that their blockade is solely to end the ‘genocide’ in Gaza. The blockade only applies to ships headed to Israel. If a ceasefire is implemented, the blockade ends. The US/UK response has been to worsen the situation with its silly ‘Prosperity Guardian’ operation; and to unleash relentless bombing campaigns on Yemenis. US/UK airstrikes has achieved nothing militarily, but have angered West Asians. Syrian and Iraqi groups demanded the withdrawal of U.S. forces from their countries. The U.S. has refused to vacate their illegal bases; and unleashed further violence on long-suffering Syrians and Iraqis. While all this is going on, Gaza is being bombed daily, and famine and disease ravage Palestinians. This happens with unfettered diplomatic and military support from Washington. Now, Congress proposes a $17.6 billion aid lifeline for Israel.
The expulsion of U.S. forces from West Asia is the logical solution. As long as the ‘American virus’ continues to ravage the ‘West Asian body,’ the body will experience violent convulsions—and possibly deadlier convulsions than witnessed since 7 October. It is a question of when, not if, the U.S. leaves West Asia. The choice for Washington is whether American soldiers will leave dead or alive. US/UK airstrikes will amount to naught. They are escalations that lead to escalations by Shiʿa militias. This cycle of violence will only end with the exit of U.S. Armed Forces from West Asia. Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah’s ‘T’ hand signal on 5 Jan 2024 caused speculation in some circles. Is he signaling a Hizballah ‘timeout’—as in American football—from the Gaza War? He was indicating the view of Shiʿa militias in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq that American forces must leave. They can leave vertically—as when they arrived; or they can leave horizontally—in flag-draped coffins.
This, from the Shiʿa perspective, is ‘why we fight.’
Perspectives 
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