Middle East

To fight the Islamic State, Obama joins hands with Iran's proxies

For weeks, the Obama administration insisted it was winning the war against the Islamic State, telling reporters that its pinpoint airstrikes and military advice were rolling back the terrorist group’s stunning territorial gains in Iraq.

But now, Obama’s foreign policy team finds itself relying on Iran-backed Shiite militias in a high-stakes bid to retake Ramadi, a provincial capital where dozens of American soldiers once died battling hordes of Sunni insurgents.