IRGC Emerges Stronger After Merger
WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Iran's elite military has been strengthened by a merger
with a student paramilitary force, a report said.
The American Enterprise Institute said the merger between the Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps and Basij has bolstered the former's role in Iran
as well as capabilities in internal security. In a report by visiting
research fellow Ali Alfoneh, AEI asserted that Basij would help IRGC against
any rivals in its struggle to control the Iranian leadership.
"The Basij-IRGC merger and the Mosaic Doctrine may not do much for
national defense," the report said, "but they certainly suggest
strengthening of the IRGC in internal politics of the Islamic republic -- a
power that is more than likely to be used, not only against dissidents, but
also against loyal elements of the Islamic Republic who challenge the
creeping coup d'etat of the Revolutionary Guards."