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Marine Corps Intelligence Activity |
(U) Civic Values and Military Culture
Ahram Ariel(U) Authority and Loyalty
This section discusses Iran’s concept of a maktabi or Islamic army and the requirements of obedience. It also discusses potential conflicts between religious authorities and the Supreme Leader Khamenei.(U) All members of the Iranian armed forces, whether in the Artesh or the IRGC, are expected to be maktabi, to follow Islamic precepts and be devoted to the Islamic Revolution. Throughout the 1980s, ideological officers were dispatched to all branches of the military to propagate this message. The maktabi military does not owe allegiance to a particular person, group, race, or party, but only to God, fulfilled through the practice of Islam. The maktabi soldier acts only for his responsibility to God and to his fellow Muslims, not for fear of reprisal or desire for earthly reward.
(U) Loyalty to Islam, however, took on a very precise meaning under the Islamic Republic. Acceptance of the rulership of the religious jurists and of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini was required if one was to be loyal to Islam. Khomeini was an extremely charismatic leader whose edicts carried enormous weight in broad sections of the Iranian public. The constitution provides the supreme leader with supreme command over both the Artesh and the IRGC.
(U) The Assembly of Experts named and the Guardian Council approved Ayatollah Khamenei as the supreme leader after Khomeini’s death. This led to an ongoing crisis of religious and political authority. Khamenei is constitutionally entitled to the position of commander in chief of the military forces. However, Khamenei is not among the most senior or respected Shi’a clerics; more senior clerics have issued edicts critical of him. This opens the possibility for a contradiction between adhering to the authoritative teachings of Islam and following the constitutionally prescribed chain of command. The IRGC and Basij commanders especially form the regime’s praetorian guard, protecting the Supreme Leader at all costs.
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(U) The issue is complicated further by the recognition that military discipline cannot be sacrificed in the name of religion. On the one hand, the volunteers who serve in the IRGC and the Basij take on a personal responsibility to protect Islam and serve the Islamic Republic. IRGC and Basij culture fosters a sense of individual duty and service and opposes hierarchy. On the other hand, military efficiency and order requires clear chain of command. It is not clear, then, whether individual soldiers may defy orders in the name of Islam. Such initiative is more likely in the IRGC and the Basij than in the Artesh.
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(U) Nationalism, Patriotism, and Citizenship
The section discusses the role of Iranian nationalism in animating defense, alongside a weak sense of civic community.(U) Iranian nationalism and patriotism is more muted, but still present, in animating the military alongside allegiance to Islam. For many, the idea of serving Islam and serving Iran is synonymous. While much of the Artesh was certainly disaffected from the revolution, the Iraqi invasion reinforced the cohesion of the regular military with the regime under the common bond of Iranian nationalism. Even as Islamic fervor could not motivate everyone, the desire to defend the homeland was a strong complementary motivator for a tough defense against Iraq. While nationalism is strong among Iranians, there is a weak sense of civic community and little sense of responsibility outside the family and friendship group. Iranians believe in defending the homeland from invasion, but not necessarily in protecting their fellow Iranians.
Ahram Ariel(U) Attitudes Toward Iranian Exiles and Diaspora
Discusses Iranians distrust of exiles and diaspora members who didn’t fight against Iraq, particularly the hated Mujahideen Khalq MKO.(U) There is close contact between the Iranian diaspora and Iranians in the homeland. Many Iranians get important information about world events and popular culture from friends and relatives abroad. However, there is also distrust of the diaspora, as many Iranians consider those who fled Iran to be traitors. Iranians in the homeland particularly distrust the Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK), a leftist-Marxist group that had participated in the revolution but soon turned against Khomeini and sided with Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War. They are now popularly described as “hypocrites” for deserting Iran in its time of need.
Ahram Ariel(U) Military Service and Social Status
This section describes social climbing through the military.(U) Service in the regular military is still considered socially prestigious among the older generations in the upper- and middle-class. Aspiring social climbers in Iran traditionally choose between careers in the military, clergy, or business as avenues for advancement. The regular air force and navy continue to draw exclusively on volunteers, presumably young men seeking technical training or to carry on a family legacy. The regular military’s professionalism continues to be admired in Iran, even though it has lost much of its political influence.
(U) The IRGC has become a launching pad for political aspirants, but is still considered less prestigious. This is probably a result of the perception that the IRGC is manned by poor urban or rural youth who lack the manners and education of the professional armed forces. Still, in some segments of Iranian society, the IRGC is even more respected precisely because it is free from the Shah’s bureaucracy and is ideologically and religiously pure.
(U) Many veterans of the Iran-Iraq War, particularly of the IRGC, resent their treatment by richer Iranians, who they say avoided service by hiding in the university or using family connections. Veterans feel that the Revolution which promised to uplift the under-class is not yet complete and support right-wing groups that want to continue to redistribute social benefits to veterans and away from the corrupt, Westernized upper-class.
Ahram Ariel(U) Ethics and Discipline
Discusses the differences between Artesh and IRGC in the role of Islam and Western military.(U) The Artesh and the IRGC have very different concepts of ethics and discipline. While both are generally charged with being maktabi (to follow Islamic precepts), much of the ethics and discipline of the Artesh stem from the lingering effects of Western military advisors. The IRGC, on the other hand, is much more closely tied to the Muslim code of law and more readily accepts the application of Islamic law within its service.
Ahram Ariel(U) Bravery, Courage, and Cowardice
This section describes two models of bravery in Iranian culture: Husayn, the martyr of Karbala, and Rustam, who uses guile to win. It discusses the various interpretation of these myths.(U) Imam Husayn and Rustam are the primary exemplars of courage and bravery in Iran’s Shi’a revolutionary and Iranian imperial legacies, respectively, but aspects of both these heroic tales can also demonstrate the necessity of retreat and withdrawal until the opportunity for action is right. Iranians learn to revere these figures, along with many others, from a young age and to recite poems and songs about their exploits. The Revolutionary government propagates the image of Husayn in particular as a revolutionary leader who was willing to die to confront injustice.
(U) Popular interpretations of these legacies are not exclusively controlled by the state, however. There is some evidence that Iranians have grown weary of 25 years of incessant invocation of Husayn’s martyrdom as justification for the current regime. Additionally, there are alternative interpretations of these same myths that can be seen as justifying retreat or deception rather than confrontation. Until the 1979 Revolution, the dominant understanding of the story of Husayn was that the faithful should adopt political passivity and dissimulation in the face of injustice and not risk a battle that could destroy the community. Until the 1979 Revolution, most Shi’ite theologians taught patient perseverance until the Twelfth Imam returned to establish justice on earth. In the imperial legacy, Rustam was known as a great warrior, but when faced with a superior opponent, he retreated to fight another day. In this way, the same elements in Iranian culture can favor both bravery and retreat.
Ahram Ariel(U) Victory and Defeat
Discusses Iranian view that Husayn achieved a symbolic victory at Karbala, even though he was militarily defeated and how Khomeini used this notion in the Iran-Iraq War.(U) The metaphor of Karbala provides an extremely flexible definition of victory. On a purely military level, Husayn failed to depose the usurper Yazid, leading to 1,500 years of persecution for the Shi’a. Still, on a spiritual level Husayn succeeded in demonstrating the evil of his opponents and, in so doing, achieved a symbolic victory in military defeat. The idea that Iran can achieve a symbolic victory by revealing to other Muslims and the world the treachery of its enemies reverberates in modern times.
(U) When Ayatollah Khomeini accepted the ceasefire that ended the Iran-Iraq War, he said he was ashamed to accept the ceasefire. Ultimately, martyrdom may be even more divine when achieved in a militarily futile or ineffective campaign. It is considered one more step in the progress toward a messianic victory of righteous Islam over unbelievers.
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(U) The notion that victory can be achieved symbolically rather than militarily is also found in Persian imperialist culture. In its long history, Iran has won and lost countless wars. Great conquerors including Alexander the Great, the Arab Islamic armies, and the Turkic hordes of Ghengis Khan, have all overrun Iran, but Iran has persevered through its cultural superiority. Ultimately, the conquering armies are attracted to Iran by Iranian high art, literature, and political sophistication. Therefore, after their victory, they adopt Persian culture as their own. Persian military loss is temporary as long as Iran is able to retain its cultural superiority. The West’s unwillingness to acknowledge Iran’s cultural space and heritage is as much a threat to Iran as any military venture.
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