Thousands of Paper Cuts, Then a Nuclear Bomb

Sorel’s concept of the revolutionary myth sheds important light on Iran’s decades-long proxy war with Israel and the US. Iran understands that it cannot face Israel or America directly, and has therefore pursued a piecemeal strategy of asymmetric warfare through attrition and ‘strategic patience.’ These revolutionary tactics were first embraced in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warfighting doctrine during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), when countless “human waves” of martyrs—often child soldiers recruited from the voluntary Basij militia—were thrown recklessly to their death in a futile attempt to push back Saddam Hussein’s forces. The state’s clergy served as propagandists of the myth of final victory, distributing “keys to heaven” necklaces to child soldiers, while evoking images of martyred Shi’a leaders, such as Imam Ali and Imam Husayn, and drawing parallels between the Battle of Karbala and the IRGC’s exploits.  Read Full Article »