It's been hard to summarize the illogical disconnect that Americans have in regards to our latest war in Iraq. Fortunately, the movie American Sniper does that for us.

In the movie our American hero sniper makes a nearly impossible shot in Sadr City, killing the bad guy and saving the day. The American audience cheers. The good guys win.
This same politically conservative audience that celebrates Chris Kyle Day also supports sending ground troops to Iraq to kill terrorists just like American Sniper.
And here's where we run into the insanity.

The terrorists that killed dozens of American soldiers in Sadr City just a few years ago are the same Shia groups we are now arming and risking American lives to help in Iraq. Some of these groups are still listed as terrorist groups for the Americans they killed and still consider us their enemies.

It's hard to get Americans to pay attention to war crimes committed against other people, especially when they are committed by our allies and we don't want to recognize it.
However, it's impossible for Americans to ignore Americans getting killed.

Daesh

Islamic State (ISIS) has killed four Americans so far, all of which were killed after the bombs started falling. Five Americans killed if you count a security contractor in Libya.
Three servicemen have died in Operation Inherent Resolve, but ISIS didn't actually kill any of them.

So that's either five or eight, depending on how you count it.
Now let's compare this modest number to our allies kill total.

An enemy of my enemy is...?

Technically the Shia militias, the ones who managed to save Baghdad, aren't our allies. In reality though, we are helping them.

in an interview this week, Hadi al-Amiri, the founder and leader of Iraq’s oldest and most powerful Shiite militia, the Badr Organization, told me the U.S. ambassador recently offered air strikes to support the Iraqi army and militia ground forces under his command. This has placed the U.S. in the strange position of deepening an alliance with the Islamic Republic of Iran for its war against Islamic extremists.

The phrase there that should really stand out is "the Iraqi army...under his command". It means that if we work with the Iraqi army, then we work with the militias.
The Obama administration is accused of “deliberately” turning a blind eye to Shiite militias’ abuses in Iraq.

What's more, many U.S.-made military weapons are turning up in the hands of Iranian-backed Shia militias.

The risk of not aiding them was greater than the risk of aiding them, the official said, adding that this didn't mean the administration was unconcerned about the risks involved.

Abrahms M-1 Tank in the hands of Iraqi militia, courtesy if American taxpayers

So what if we worked with Shia militias. ISIS are bad guys. An enemy of my enemy and all that, right?
Well consider the recent record of those militias.

Kata'ib Hezbollah

Founded: 2007
Estimated strength: 30,000 in late 2014
Terrorist list: yes

Kata'ib Hezbollah (Battalions of the Party of God) made a name for themselves by launching dozens of IED-roadside bombing attacks against coalition forces between 2007 and 2011, and then broadcast videos of the attacks on television.
Their best known video is this one of a sniper killing an American soldier.
It's impossible to ignore or rationalize the various videos of Americans being killed by Shia militias, while being outraged by similar videos from ISIS.

Kata'ib Hezbollah reason for being created was to kill American occupation soldiers, although it impossible to say just how many Americans KH has killed.

Commanders include Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani (aka "the Engineer"), who bombed the U.S. embassy in 1983. He's considered "the right-hand man of Gen. Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps' clandestine operations arm, the Quds Force."

In June of 2011, KH launched a rocket attack on a Baghdad base that killed five American soldiers and later in that same month killed three more Americans in another rocket attack.

Like AAH, KH gets its weapons, training, and financing directly from Iran.

Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq

Founded: 2006
Estimated strength: 50,000 in 2014
Terrorist list: No
Seats in Iraqi Parliament: 1

Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq (aka "League of the Righteous") split from the Mahdi Army after the bloody Shia uprising of 2004 that killed dozens of American servicemen. Muqtada al-Sadr, wanted a ceasefire. AAH wanted to keep fighting.
AAH claimed 6,000 attacks on U.S. forces during the recent occupation. There is no official count of Americans killed by AAH, but to give you just a taste of how many Americans they killed and how they feel about Americans today, consider the Karbala provincial headquarters raid. One American soldier was killed on site, four others were kidnapped and executed shortly after.

One commander of AAH is Ismail Hafidh Al-Lami. He was infamous for luring Sunnis into his ambulance on the pretense of a blood drive for war victims.
Human Right Watch says AAH committed the Musab bin Umair mosque massacre last year.
AAH has killed dozens of homosexuals.

Asaib Ahl al-Haq have already worked in coordination with American air strikes.
Naeem al-Aboudi, the spokesman for Asaib Ahl al-Haq, said upon breaking the siege at Amerli, “We don’t trust Americans at all. We don’t need them.”

AAH gets weapons, training, and financial support directly from Iran.

Promise Day Brigade

Founded: 2008
Estimated members: up to 50,000

The Promise Day Brigade, linked to cleric Muqtada as-Sadr and his Mahdi Army, is the third of the three terrorist groups (along with AAH and KH) that U.S. officials believe are the biggest threat to Iraq stability.
The group was earlier known as Mahdi Army or Jaish al-Mahdi, which was the leading Shia militant group to fight the American occupation, especially the April 2004 uprising and the Battle of Najaf in August. Several dozen American soldiers were killed in these battles.

On just one day, June 28, 2011, the PDB attacked U.S. troops 10 times. Three Americans were killed in those attacks.

The PDB has not been the most active Shia militia in the war against Daesh. Earlier this week, Muqtada al-Sadr ordered the PDB away from the frontlines because he didn't want his group associated with the atrocities being committed.

Badr Brigade

Formed: 1982
Estimated members: slightly less than 100,000
Seats in Iraqi Parliament (Sadrist Movement): 40

Originally formed by Iran to fight Saddam's regime, the Badr Organization is the oldest, largest, and most politically powerful of the Shia militias.
For instance, Hakim al-Zamili is now chairman of the Iraqi Parliament’s security and defense committee. During the occupation he was known for running death squads.
Mohammed Ghabban, is the interior minister and nation's top law officer, but "there is little doubt that Hadi al-Amiri, head of the party and its military wing, will wield the real power in the ministry."
Mohammed al-Bayati, another Badr leader, is Iraq’s human rights minister, who's job it is to overlook the abuses of the people he takes orders from.

They were extremely active in the ethnic cleansing of Sunnis in Baghdad during the 2006-2009 period.
They've picked up in the current war right where they left off. They are both the most active militia fighting Daesh and the most active militia for committing war crimes in "liberated" areas.

If you think the Shia militiamen feels more positive towards America these days, consider this video.

Quds Force

Formed: 1980
Estimated strength: around 15,000
Terrorist list: yes

By now you should have noticed a pattern, all of the Shia militias in Iraq have direct connections to Iran.
The conduit between Tehran and the Shia militas is the Quds Force, Iran's special forces unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and is responsible for their extraterritorial operations.

The Quds Force was designated a terrorist organization by the State Department Oct. 25, 2007.
Outside of Iraq, their primary proxies are Hezbollah in Lebanon, who bombed the U.S. embassy in 1983, killing 241 Americans.

During the American Occupation of Iraq, U.S. General John Abizaid blamed the Quds for being behind the Shia militias fighting the U.S.
Major General Kevin Bergner blamed the Quds for being behind a specific raid in Karbala.
The Pentagon blamed the Quds for giving IED training and technology to the Shia militias.
In January 2007, a U.S. raid in Iraq captured Brig. Gen. Mohsen Chirazi and Col. Abu Amad Davari of the Quds Force.

Major General Qassem Suleimani, the Quds Force’s leader, operates openly in Iraq these days. What's more, the Shia militia commanders don't mind being seen with him.

So what happens when we put our troops in the front lines against ISIS, which looks likely this year? What happens when ISIS is no longer a threat to Baghdad and the Shia militias no longer need us?
The Iraq occupation and insurgency is not ancient history. The people who shot our troops are now leading armies, using our weapons. At the very least, a few blue on green attacks are likely. Perhaps a lot more.

“Members of the Badr Corps are responsible for killing many American Soldiers and they will likely do it again if given the chance,” Flynn told me. “We built an Iraqi military to defeat all the enemies of Iraq and groups like the Badr Corps represent enemies of a stable, secure, and inclusive Iraq. As soon as we get done helping them with ISIS, they will very likely turn on us.”

There are other insanities about this whole situation besides fighting alongside terrorist groups that got their designation by killing Americans, such as backing one sectarian force against another, a recipe for never-ending war.
And there is the fact that we have practically no allies on the ground in Syria, and absolutely no plans of taking on Daesh in Libya, so a conclusive victory in this war is nearly impossible.
On the bright side, Hollywood could always use an American Sniper sequel.