The Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), known since 2009 as the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (ISCI), is a Shiite political party in Iraq with an active militant wing. ISCI was established by Shiite exiles in Iran, who, in 1982, formed the group with a mission to overthrow Saddam Hussein and install an Iranian-style government [[“Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council.” Times Topics. The New York Times
August 2009. Available at: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/supreme_iraqi_islamic_council/index.html]]. The group fought with Iran against Iraq in the eight year war between the country, relying heavily on its military wing, the Badr Brigade, which had been trained and funded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps [[Beehner, Lionel. “Iraq’s Militia Groups.” Council on Foreign Relations. October 2006. Available at: http://www.cfr.org/iraq/iraqs-militia-groups/p11824#p6]].
After Saddam Hussein was overthrown, the party quickly tried to establish power in Iraq under the guidance of its new leader, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, a founding member of the group [[“Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council.” Times Topics. The New York Times. August 2009. Available at: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/supreme_iraqi_islamic_council/index.html]]. Al-Hakim led the group to increased power through a series of image reforms coupled with pragmatic political moves. In 2007, the group dropped “revolution” from their name and signaled an ideological shift away from alliance with Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to the Shiite’s religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani [[“Shiite Politics in Iraq: The Role of the Supreme Council.” International Crisis Group. November 2007. Available at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Ira
q/70_shiite_politics_in_iraq___the_role_of_the_supreme_council.ashx]]. These decisions were an effort to distance the group from its unpopular linkages with Iran and its perception as a group under foreign influence [[“Shiite Politics in Iraq: The Role of the Supreme Council.” International Crisis Group. November 2007. Available at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Iraq/70_shiite_politics_in_iraq___the_role_of_the_supreme_council.ashx]]. The popular perception that the group is under foreign influence was not lessened by its significant ties with the United States, especially the Bush administration [[“Shiite Politics in Iraq: The Role of the Supreme Council.” International Crisis Group. November 2007. Available at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Iraq/70_shiite_politics_in_iraq___the_role_of_the_supreme_council.ashx]]. ISCI enjoys the highest popularity among Shiite elites, whereas their rival, the Mahdi army, found acceptance among a greater majority of Shiites [[“Shiite Politics in Iraq: The Role of the Supreme Council.” International Crisis Group. November 2007. Available at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Ira
q/70_shiite_politics_in_iraq___the_role_of_the_supreme_council.ashx]]. In 2009, ISCI changed tactics and formed an alliance with Moktada al-Sadr’s Mahdi army, however, an instance of ISIC’s political pragmatism [[“Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council.” Times Topics. The New York Times. August 2009. Available at: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/supreme_iraqi_islamic_council/index.html]].
ISCI’s militia is still active, and is by some estimates 10,000 strong [[“SCIRI: Who’s Who in Post-Saddam Iraq.” BBC. 2003. Available at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/post_saddam_iraq/html/shia_sciri.stm]] [[Beehner, Lionel. “Iraq’s Militia Groups.” Council on Foreign Relations. October 2006. Available at: http://www.cfr.org/iraq/iraqs-militia-groups/p11824#p6]]. The militia mainly active in the north, where it has in recent years clashed with the British army and Mahdi forces [[Beehner, Lionel. “Iraq’s Militia Groups.”
Council on Foreign Relations. October 2006]]. The group continues, to varying degrees, advocate a separate Shiite-run region in the oil-rich southern Iraq [[Beehner, Lionel. “Iraq’s Militia Groups.” Council on Foreign Relations. October 2006. Available at: http://www.cfr.org/iraq/iraqs-militia-groups/p11824#p6]]. In 2009, its leader al-Hakim died and was succeeded by his son, Ammar al-Hakim, but doubts remain about his ability to effectively lead the group [[“Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council.” Times Topics. The New York
Times. August 2009. Available at: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/supreme_iraqi_islamic_council/index.html]].
