Vladimir Putin Gets Praise from Shiite Muslims in Iraq For His Work in Syria

Iraq has realigned itself around Russia and Iran, and the Shiite's are currently celebrating Russia's President Vladimir Putin for his work in Syria. According to Breitbart, Iraqis are now celebrating the arrival of "Putin the Shiite" in Syria, with the hopes that he will pick up the fight against ISIS.

According to the article, the Iraqis are spreading stories on social media regarding the Russian President's supposed Iraqi blood, thus the name.

However, it seems that this is a ruse. The New York Times reported that the famous Facebook post in Iraq's Shiite heartland was photoshopped and no, Putiin did not don the robe of a southern tribal sheikh.

But robed in tribal clothes or not, the reality remains that the struggle against ISIS has been stalemated and the display of Russian military power in Syria, as well as Putin's leadership, has been applauded by those in the Shiite power center. Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum, a member of the Iraqi Parliament said, "What the people in the street care about is how to get Daesh out of Iraq. Now they feel Russia is more serious than the United States."

Iraqis claimed that Putin's actions convinced them to stay in their war-torn country, thinking that he's going to set things straight. "I thank Putin because he convinced me to stay in Iraq... Hajji Putin is better than Hussein Obama," a taxi driver said.

Foreign Affairs has noted that there is a possibility that Putin is driving Obama out of Iraq, as the are customers for Russian Arms and with the Russians being more understanding of their military realities than Americans, they are now viewing American conditions for military assistance, "patronizing."

Faris Hammam, the leader of the local writers' union has emphasized how many attendees at the seminar of journalists and civic leaders were glad about the Russian military's involvement emphasizing that "The Russian intervention is welcomed, not because they like intervention but because of the American failure."

An associate fellow at Chatham House, an international affairs research group based in London said, "In the Middle East, what often counts is strength -- or at least the illusion of it."

With America's President Barack Obama seemingly indecisive about his decision to put a hold in Syria, Iraq wants leaders to realign itself near their allies, which at this point seemingly includes Putin and Russia.

Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi of Iraq said, "Inside Iraq, there are very dangerous guys, so I think to have the Russians on board will help me."

What do you think of Iraq's praise for Russia, do you think this support will be a big problem for the United States?