[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ds-1col clearfix\u0022\u003E\n\n  \n\n  \n  \u003Cp\u003EAlthough Kata\u2019ib Hezbollah (KH) has been active in Iraq since at least 2007, Western media did not cover the group significantly until the summer of 2008. At that time, the United States and coalition forces announced the arrests of various KH operatives, and the group began to receive limited coverage as a result.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Cem\u003ELong War Journal\u003C\/em\u003E was one of the first Western media outlets to cover the arrests. In a July 21 article, the \u003Cem\u003ELong War Journal\u003C\/em\u003E announced the coalition forces\u2019 arrest of a KH propagandist, and added that \u201c[l]ittle information is publicly available on the Hezbollah Brigades [KH]\u201d group itself.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EBill Roggio, \u201cHezbollah Brigades propaganda specialist captured in Baghdad,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ELong War Journal\u003C\/em\u003E, July 21, 2008, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2008\/07\/hezbollah_brigades_p.php\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2008\/07\/hezbollah_brigades_p.php\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E The outlet then introduced KH as an \u201coffshoot of Iranian-trained Special Groups,\u201d a U.S. classification for Iranian-backed paramilitary cells in Iraq. It went on to describe KH\u2019s logo which, as author Bill Roggio noted, resembled the logo of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Roggio continued by outlining the group\u2019s claims of responsibility for attacks on U.S. and coalition targets, including an improvised rocket-assisted mortar (IRAM) attack a few weeks prior.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EBill Roggio, \u201cHezbollah Brigades propaganda specialist captured in Baghdad,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ELong War Journal\u003C\/em\u003E, July 21, 2008, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2008\/07\/hezbollah_brigades_p.php\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2008\/07\/hezbollah_brigades_p.php\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E Throughout the rest of the summer, the \u003Cem\u003ELong War Journal\u003C\/em\u003E continued to cover the group as Multinational Forces Iraq and the U.S. army announced arrests of suspected KH operatives.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EBill Roggio, \u201cCoalition forces capture Hezbollah Brigades operative in Baghdad,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ELong War Journal\u003C\/em\u003E, July 31, 2008, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2008\/07\/coalition_forces_cap.php\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2008\/07\/coalition_forces_cap.php\u003C\/a\u003E; Bill Roggio, \u201cIran continues to train Shia terror groups for attacks in Iraq,\u201d Long War Journal, August 15, 2008 \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2008\/08\/map_details_irans_op.php\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2008\/08\/map_details_irans_op.php\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E Around that time, other outlets mentioned KH in passing, including the Associated Press.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EAssociated Press, \u201cU.S.: Iraqi Shiite Terror Squads Receiving Training in Iran,\u201d Fox News, August 15, 2008, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/story\/2008\/08\/15\/us-iraqi-shiite-terror-squads-receiving-training-in-iran\/\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/story\/2008\/08\/15\/us-iraqi-shiite-terror-squads-receiving-training-in-iran\/\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EReuters, on the other hand, did not provide major coverage of the group until 2013 and 2014. During this time, extremism and sectarianism once again rose to the surface of Iraq\u2019s political landscape. As a result, KH was often mentioned by Reuters tangentially, and in relation to the general trend of resurgent sectarian tensions in Iraq.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003ESuadad al-Salhy and Sylvia Westall, \u201cInsight: Iraqis hesitate on the edge of chaos,\u201d Reuters, September 19, 2013, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/2013\/09\/19\/us-iraq-sectarian-insight-idUSBRE98I0FA20130919\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/2013\/09\/19\/us-iraq-sectarian-insight-idUSBRE98I0FA20130919\u003C\/a\u003E; Ned Parker, Ahmed Rasheed, and Raheem Salman, \u201cSectarian strife threatens Iraq ahead of election,\u201d Reuters, April 27, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/2014\/04\/27\/us-iraq-strife-idUSBREA3Q0FE20140427\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/2014\/04\/27\/us-iraq-strife-idUSBREA3Q0FE20140427\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the time, the \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E tended to rely on Reuters when mentioning developments related to KH and other Shiite paramilitary groups. Indeed, the \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E did not publish original articles mentioning KH by name until the fall of 2014.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EDavid D. Kirkpatrick, \u201cShiite Militias Pose Challenge for U.S. in Iraq,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E, September 16, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/09\/17\/world\/middleeast\/shiite-militias-pose-challenge-for-us-in-iraq.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/09\/17\/world\/middleeast\/shiite-militias-pose-challenge-for-us-in-iraq.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E In its first article mentioning KH by name, the \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E described the group as one of Iraq\u2019s three main Iranian-backed Shiite militias. It distinguished KH from Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) and the Badr Organization, stating that KH \u201cshares the Iranian patronage and ideology of the Lebanese group of the same name, but has no other known links to it.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EDavid D. Kirkpatrick, \u201cShiite Militias Pose Challenge for U.S. in Iraq,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E, September 16, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/09\/17\/world\/middleeast\/shiite-militias-pose-challenge-for-us-in-iraq.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/09\/17\/world\/middleeast\/shiite-militias-pose-challenge-for-us-in-iraq.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E The introduction ignored the body of research made by the U.S. government that linked Lebanese Hezbollah to Kata\u2019ib Hezbollah through training and support systems.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cTreasury Designates Individual, Entity Posing Threat to Stability in Iraq,\u201d U.S. Department of the Treasury, July 2, 2009, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.treasury.gov\/press-center\/press-releases\/Pages\/tg195.aspx\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.treasury.gov\/press-center\/press-releases\/Pages\/tg195.aspx\u003C\/a\u003E; \u201cCountry Reports on Terrorism 2009: Chapter 6. Terrorist Organizations,\u201d U.S. Department of State, August 5, 2010, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.state.gov\/j\/ct\/rls\/crt\/2009\/140900.htm\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.state.gov\/j\/ct\/rls\/crt\/2009\/140900.htm\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E In the same September 2014 article, the \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E specifically noted that KH was opposed to any cooperation with the United States, and quoted the militia as saying that it would \u201cnot fight alongside the American troops under any kind of conditions whatsoever.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EDavid D. Kirkpatrick, \u201cShiite Militias Pose Challenge for U.S. in Iraq,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E, September 16, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/09\/17\/world\/middleeast\/shiite-militias-pose-challenge-for-us-in-iraq.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/09\/17\/world\/middleeast\/shiite-militias-pose-challenge-for-us-in-iraq.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E author David D. Kirkpatrick framed this anti-American stance as \u201c[u]nderscoring the tensions in the de facto alliance\u201d between Iraq\u2019s Iranian-backed Shiite militias.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EDavid D. Kirkpatrick, \u201cShiite Militias Pose Challenge for U.S. in Iraq,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E, September 16, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/09\/17\/world\/middleeast\/shiite-militias-pose-challenge-for-us-in-iraq.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/09\/17\/world\/middleeast\/shiite-militias-pose-challenge-for-us-in-iraq.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n","dialogOptions":{"minWidth":850,"resizable":true,"modal":true,"title":"Western Media"}},{"command":"doFootnotes"}]