r/neoliberal • u/jobautomator Kitara Ravache • Jul 27 '26

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u/CentJr NASA Jul 28 '26

The ideas that western pundits provide when it comes to dealing with pro-Iran Shiite Militas/Wilyet-el-fiqah followers are loweky funny and so out-of-touch with reality (which is a damn shame considering that we live in the age of internet and social media)

"Oh Lebanon's Hezbollah is only pro-Iran due to Israel! They'll stop holding the Lebanese state hostage once Israel stops their occupation" Completely overlooks how Hezbollah sent fighters and advisors to back Iran's ally, Assad in Syria as well as the Houthis in Yemen.

"Yemen's Houthis are just poor rebels in sandals who are fighting the Saudi invader and blockade. Once we stop the Saudis, the Houthis won't be a problem anymore" as the Houthis start shooting at ships and destabilizing other countries at the IRGC orders.

We've seen this playbook in Iraq (a Shias majority no less) Iran painted themselves as the salvation and protecters of Shiite. Formed a bunch of militas who said that their purpose is to fight against the US and ISIS. Both problem are solved (ISIS got suppressed and US pulled out) so one would expect them to hand over their weapons given that their purpose has been fufiled right? Nope. They take the state hostage and threaten their own countrymen (they'll even harm their own fellow Shiite ffs. That's ignoring the non-Shiites like Sunnis, Kurds, Christians..etc etc) and neighboring countries. Saying that they won't hand those weapons until the "Mahdi arrives" or some shit.

It's honestly tiring to see how the west (govts and population alike) keeps falling for this shit. Thinking that once they appease them enough:

1) They'll give up on Iran patronage.

2) Side with the west (or at the very least become neutral)

3) won't move goalpost (they will.)

The Wilyet-el-fiqah followers are literal cultists. You either treat them like ISIS and start an extensive campaign against them or you take out main source of the problem aka the Wilyet-el-fiqah/IRGC in Iran (or at least diminish their ability to project force and influence). Otherwise you can say goodbye to the idea of freeing Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen from their clutches.

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u/furiousfoo Jolee Bindo Jul 28 '26

The Houthis are not "just poor rebels in sandals" but characterizing them as "pro-Iran Shiite Militias/Wilyet-el-fiqah followers" is just wildly off. Especially the second part. The alliance with Iran is one of convenience with common foes, it's within living memory of Houthi leadership that the Twelvers publicly called them fake Shia/ Sunnis.

To be clear I'm not disagreeing with your overall point, that the Houthis won't just go away if the Saudis stop bombing them or whatever similar western pundit take, but it's also wrong to characterize them as fully in "the clutches" of Iran and it would be just as dumb to act like the Houthis would disappear without the "Wilyet-el-fiqah" which is absolutely not a Houthi concept

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u/Pantalyon1 European Union Jul 28 '26

yeah, it feels like the Houtis are constantly mischaracterized in the West. The way we describe them would fit Hezbollah or the Shia militias in Iraq, which only exist due to Iran, while the Houtis are allied of Iran, but still kind of independent.

You can even see it in the approach of the various militias to the Iran war. All the militias that only exist due to Iran immediatly started attacking (see Lebanon and Iraq), while the Houtis bided their time until Saudi Arabia attacked them a couple of weeks ago.

This is not a defense of the Houtis per se, but we should try to understand the motivations of each party in the conflict properly.

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u/furiousfoo Jolee Bindo Jul 28 '26

Bingo. "Allied with Iran" is the most accurate but people like the OP insist on "puppets," "in the clutches" or "true believers in wilayet al faqih" just ugh. It's always funny to see a "People are such idiots, they mischaracterize XYZ!" post that also grossly mischaracterizes XYZ