The Guards are an elite branch of Iran's military, created in 1979 in the wake of the country's Islamic revolution to provide a counterweight to the then U.S.-trained military. At the time, Iran's new Islamic leaders worried the army might remain loyal to the deposed shah.
The Guards won widespread admiration and even reverence among Iranians in the 1980s when they defended the country from Saddam Hussein's regime during the Iran-Iraq war.
Yes, they grew from the new regime's bully boys into a parallel military structure during the Iran-Iraq War. But the regular Iranian military during that war always provided the more technical aspect of the war effort like artilley, air support, armor, and logistics. The Pasdaran and their cannon fodder auxiliary force called the Basij, who were mobilized in the hundreds of thousands to charge machine guns and clear minefields by stepping on them, mostly provided light infantry at best fired up by Islamist fanaticism.
Only after the war did they branch out into weapons and organization more in line with a conventional military force.
And they expanded out into commercial ventures, too.
But this article repeats a common mistake made by reporters who talk about the Pasdaran or any other spiffy force that bolsters the regime. The AP calls them "elite."
This is insane. The Pasdaran are not elite.
SEALs are elite. Delta Force is elite. Rangers are elite. Marine Force Recon is elite. Just listing these US forces should give you an idea of what elite means. It means well-trained troops who excel in battle and can be counted on to fight even when thrown into desperate situations.
The Pasdaran are not "elite." They are pampered, loyal, and have uniforms. They have no particular skill in fighting. You will see this term used for any Third World palace guard that has shined boots and new weapons--especially if they have chrome on them. The shiny weapons distract the reporters.
At best, as used by the press, the term "elite" might mean people so loyal to the leader and fanatical that they will die in place rather than give up. Usually, as with the "elite" Special Republican Guards who protected Baghdad in April 2003, it just means they are cruel to defenseless civilians but run when real soldiers fight them.
And the press just never learns this basic lesson.
My head hurts.
