Empire of Terror: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

by Mark D. Silinsky

In Empire of Terror Mark D. Silinsky argues that Iran is one of the United States’ deadliest enemies. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, known as the Guards, bring Iran’s sway over much of the greater Middle East and pose a growing existential threat to Western security.

Providing insights gained from his thirty-eight years as an analyst in the U.S. defense intelligence community, Silinsky argues that Iran’s political leaders and Guards are animated by aggressive, unforgiving, and totalitarian principles. He draws historical parallels to the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany to compare the intelligence and security services of states with totalitarian aspirations and to illustrate ideological points of intersection—a collectivist mindset, intolerance for political deviation, strongly defined sex roles and hypermasculinity, and a ruthless determination to ferret out and destroy their enemies.

Silinsky offers biographies and explanations of the ideology that propels some of Iran’s leaders, with global implications. Profiling the perpetrators, victims, heroes, villains, and dupes, Silinsky shines light on the human and inhumane elements in this distinctly Iranian drama. Although the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany have been defeated and belong to history, the Iranian threat is very much alive.
 

Genres: History, Iran

328 pages, Hardcover

Published July 1, 2021

Reviews

[Richard Hessney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sobering read, especially for anyone opposed to or skeptical of the current U.S. military action in Iran. The country is ruled by conservative Shiite mullahs backed by about 150,000 Revolutionary Guards and over 400,000 militia, or Basij, who enforce Muslim dress and moral codes and help with crowd control. It is a totalitarian state that brooks no opposition and even hunts down dissidents abroad and assassinates them.

The author, a Pentagon intelligence officer, has written the book from publicly available sources and has synthesized a great amount of information. His conclusion is that the Guards and the Shiite theocracy form of government are in firm control, and that Iran is an intractable "wicked" problem that is difficult to resolve. The Guards control cyberwarfare and Iran's nuclear program. They are trained soldiers who augment and function separately from Iran's army, air force, and navy (the "Artesh"). It's fair to say they all hate America and Western culture.

Mr. Silinsky finished writing the book in 2020. At the time, he said Iran must be stopped from developing a nuclear bomb because he believed Iran would use it against Israel. The only way to do that was by military action. If Iran were to drop a nuclear bomb on Tel Aviv through a medium-range missile, there could come a time when they could have intercontinental ballistic missiles to hit the U.S.

President Trump has been clear that his main goal in the 2026 war is to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons. According to Silinsky, the goal is the right one, and unfortunately military force may be the only way to achieve it.

[Toby Watkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm quite disappointed in this book. Reads like a basic Wikipedia article. Surface level comparisons between the Iranian IRGC and soviet/KGB - Nazi (SS). When the author does decide to give his own opinion he fails to expand upon it or justify it. This would have been a much more interesting direction for the book to go in. It could have benefited from focusing more on particular case studies/events in more detail. The book feels very under baked.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very detailed look at the Iranian Guards Unit. The author uses comparisons with gestopo, SS, and KGB as he gives the history of the unit's activities over several decades.