Last month, a popular Iraqi social-media channel associated with the country’s powerful network of Tehran-backed Shiite militias released a new song cheering the Wagner Group, the private army that aids Moscow in its various military ventures. The song’s lyrics, Amir al-Kaabi writes, emphasize the extent to which the muqawama—a term literally meaning “resistance” adopted by the militias, Hizballah, and other Iranian proxies—feels a sense of kinship with Russia:

The song . . . glorifies the Russian group for its operations in Syria and Ukraine. The song also was worded as if the group is an extended part of the Shiite community. Muqawama social media . . . described the commander of the Wagner group as Hajji Yevgeny; hajji is an adjective for those in a senior position and have completed the Hajj, or pilgrimage [to Mecca].

Muqawama social-media accounts have the habit of describing Russia as “Great Russia” (Rusia al-Udhma) For example, Tura News, a muqawama Telegram channel, describes the Russian ministry of defense as the “ministry of defense of Great Russia.” At the same time, it described the president of Ukraine as “the Jewish president” in an effort to degrade him in the eyes of Iraqi viewers.

The muqawama is still fascinated by the personality of Putin as they try to portray him as a strong man. They even use a nickname [with religious connotations] for him (Abu Ali) to make him more appealing to the Shiite public.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.