I would always make the case that the US internally resembles Iran right after the 1979 revolution. There's actually a book called "Iranian military in revolution and war", which talks about what happened to the army when Khomeini took over. Lots of potential parallels.
One big difference between Iran and Iraq is that the Iranian regime was "revolutionary"; it rejects the "unfolkish" elements of communism while appealing to the struggles of the masses. It seek to replace the ineffective and corrupt "secular" laws with a legal system that is more "folkish" and is based on more politically acceptable grounds for a jumping board for world revolution.
Khomeini was thinking about spreading the revolution across the Islamic world, as seen by his refusal to make peace in 1982 and his conduct of the hostage crisis in Tehran.
As soon as the regime established itself, it was challenged by a plethora of enemies, and hence, a Revolutionary Guards Corps was established. One thing to remember is that the nascent Khomeinist regime was challenged by all kinds of separatist and revolutionary movements and it took a lot of force to suppress those.
The training and capability of the Revolutionary Guard are very varied. Leadership generally contains some veteran Palestine Fedayeen and such factions, while the lower ranks are populated by barely literate urban lower classes. A chunk of early revolutionary guards were in fact bodyguards for prominent clerics.
Alternatively, you could also say that what's happening in the West with the rise of populism resembles more of Algeria in 1992 at the onset of civil war. Or the line of the Arab Spring, which Algeria serves as a forerunner of what is to come.
But lessons from those conflicts are chilling, to say at least...
Damn, and I thought your long articles were downers.
I’ll try to write about Hegel and Girl Pop again for the next one
I'm doing my writing 121 narrative essay on you and the rock and the discourse community around left of center mil shit
I would always make the case that the US internally resembles Iran right after the 1979 revolution. There's actually a book called "Iranian military in revolution and war", which talks about what happened to the army when Khomeini took over. Lots of potential parallels.
I actually thought about mentioning Iran, but I figured I made the point I was going for. (also still quite exaggerated by comparison, though)
One big difference between Iran and Iraq is that the Iranian regime was "revolutionary"; it rejects the "unfolkish" elements of communism while appealing to the struggles of the masses. It seek to replace the ineffective and corrupt "secular" laws with a legal system that is more "folkish" and is based on more politically acceptable grounds for a jumping board for world revolution.
Khomeini was thinking about spreading the revolution across the Islamic world, as seen by his refusal to make peace in 1982 and his conduct of the hostage crisis in Tehran.
As soon as the regime established itself, it was challenged by a plethora of enemies, and hence, a Revolutionary Guards Corps was established. One thing to remember is that the nascent Khomeinist regime was challenged by all kinds of separatist and revolutionary movements and it took a lot of force to suppress those.
The training and capability of the Revolutionary Guard are very varied. Leadership generally contains some veteran Palestine Fedayeen and such factions, while the lower ranks are populated by barely literate urban lower classes. A chunk of early revolutionary guards were in fact bodyguards for prominent clerics.
Alternatively, you could also say that what's happening in the West with the rise of populism resembles more of Algeria in 1992 at the onset of civil war. Or the line of the Arab Spring, which Algeria serves as a forerunner of what is to come.
But lessons from those conflicts are chilling, to say at least...