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Concentrating on the enemy, the transformation under-fire of former regime militias into post-conflict guerillas.

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Collection	School of Advanced Military Studies Monographs
Title	Concentrating on the enemy, the transformation under-fire of former regime militias into post-conflict guerillas.
Author	Western, Charles A.
Abstract	This monograph is an examination of the transition of the Iraqi Saddam Fedayeen militia into a guerilla organization in an attempt to draw out methods that might be used against the Niruyeh Moghavemat Basij (Mobilisation Resistance Force) militia in the event of a war with Iran. The examination will utilize Dr. Joe Strange’s method of identifying the center of gravity and consequent critical vulnerabilities overlaying a System of Systems Analysis (SoSA) framework. By evaluating the critical capabilities, critical requirements, and critical vulnerabilities of the Saddam Fedayeen along the SoSA political, military, economic, social, infrastructure and information construct, and contrasting this framework with Iran and the Basij militia, operational planners can potentially identify successful and unsuccessful patterns and methods to prevent the Basij from transitioning into a guerrilla force. Military means alone will not suffice to isolate the Basij from the people. As larger force embedded throughout Iranian society, the Basij present a much more complex problem than the Saddam Fedayeen. However, the Basij was similar to the Saddam Fedayeen in its participation in repressive acts at the behest of the government and is viewed with caution by many Iranians. It was preparing for guerilla warfare and inculcated successful strategies into its training that were employed in the guerilla war in Iraq, including suicide attacks. There are some similarities along the PMESII spectrum between Iraq and Iran. Both sets of infrastructure were old and in need of repair and modernization. Both regimes strictly controlled the information flow in society. Both regimes knew that a conventional defense against U.S. conventional power is limited and have turned to asymmetrical means of defense, WMD and guerilla war primarily. The primary difference between the Saddam Fedayeen and the Iranian Basij was the ideological commitment of the members of the organization. The Saddam Fedayeen, a secular force that was personally and viciously attached to Saddam Hussein, fell apart over time after the death of Saddam’s sons and the capture of Saddam Hussein. The members of the Saddam Fedayeen turned their loyalties towards Islamic guerilla organizations that were more successful because of their cultural affinity with the Iraqi, specifically Sunni, people. The ideology of the Basij was religious and therefore presented a much stronger link to the Islamic Revolutionary Government of Iran than the Saddam Fedayeen’s loyalty to an individual. This religious orientation makes some of the actions, such as deBa’athification, taken in Iraq to be impractical even counter-productive in Iran.
Keyword	Guerilla warfare; Guerillas; Iraq; Iraqi Saddam Fedayeen; Niruyeh Moghavemat Basij (Mobilisation resistance force); Iran; Strange, Joe; Center of gravity (COG); System of systems analysis (SoSA); Operational planning; Asymmetrical warfare; Militia; Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF); Sunni Arabs; Iran-Iraq War
Series	Command and General Staff College (CGSC), School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) Monograph
Publisher	Fort Leavenworth, KS : US Army Command and General Staff College,
Date, Original	2006-05-25
Date, Digital	2006-05-25
Resource Type	Textual
Format	PDF; Adobe Acrobat Reader required; 93 p.; 513 KB.
Call number	ADA450832
Release statement	Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)
Repository	Combined Arms Research Library
Library	Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library
Date created	2006-07-19

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