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The Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini was a Muslim [[Shiite]] who took control of Iran after a revolution overthrew in 1979 one of the twin pilars of Western cooperative security arangements in the Persian Gulf, the Shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]].  The Ayatollah came to power as part of US President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s "Human Rights" policy. William Miller, chief of staff on the US Senate Intelligence Committee, said America had nothing to fear from Khomeini since he would be a [[progressive]] force for human rights. U.S. Ambassador William Sullivan compared Khomeini to [[Mahatma Gandhi]].”  

The Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini was a Muslim [[Shiite]] who took control of Iran after a revolution overthrew in 1979 one of the twin pilars of Western cooperative security arangements in the Persian Gulf, the Shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]].  The Ayatollah came to power as part of US President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s "Human Rights" policy. William Miller, chief of staff on the US Senate Intelligence Committee, said America had nothing to fear from Khomeini since he would be a [[progressive]] force for human rights. U.S. Ambassador William Sullivan compared Khomeini to [[Mahatma Gandhi]].”  

In 1979,  the Ayatollah  Khomeini created the ''Basij Mostazafan'' a mass movement of young people under 17 years of age.  When the Iran-Iraq War started in 1980, Khomeini issued a [[fatwa]] and promise of paradise and they were incorporated into the Iranian military. The Iranian clegy took over command from the high regular military leaders to clergy in mid-1982. In July 1982 Iran launched Operation Ramadan near Basra. The clergy used "human-wave" attacks calling for the young people from age 9 years old and up to move forward in human wave attacks to clear minefields so the regular Army could follow. <ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/iran-iraq.htm Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), ''Iraqi Retreats, 1982-84''], Globalsecruity.org, retrieved 20 March 2007.</ref>  Matthias Küntzel quotes an Iraqi officer's description of one such encounter in the summer of 1982.

In 1979,  the Ayatollah  Khomeini created the ''Basij Mostazafan'' a mass movement of young people under 17 years of age.  When the Iran-Iraq War started in 1980, Khomeini issued a [[fatwa]] and promise of paradise and they were incorporated into the Iranian military. The Iranian clegy took over command from the regular military leaders in mid-1982. In July 1982 Iran launched Operation Ramadan near Basra. The clergy used "human-wave" attacks calling for the young people from age 9 years old and up to move forward in human wave attacks to clear minefields so the regular Army could follow. <ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/iran-iraq.htm Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), ''Iraqi Retreats, 1982-84''], Globalsecruity.org, retrieved 20 March 2007.</ref>  Matthias Küntzel quotes an Iraqi officer's description of one such encounter in the summer of 1982.

:''“They come toward our positions in huge hordes with their fists swinging...You can shoot down the first wave and then the second. But at some point the corpses are piling up in front of you, and all you want to do is scream and throw away your weapon. Those are human beings, after all!'' <ref>[http://www.matthiaskuentzel.de/contents/ahmadinejads-demons ''Ahmadinejad's Demons: A Child of the Revolution Takes Over''], Matthias Küntzel, The New Republic, 24 April 2006 .</ref>

:''“They come toward our positions in huge hordes with their fists swinging...You can shoot down the first wave and then the second. But at some point the corpses are piling up in front of you, and all you want to do is scream and throw away your weapon. Those are human beings, after all!'' <ref>[http://www.matthiaskuentzel.de/contents/ahmadinejads-demons ''Ahmadinejad's Demons: A Child of the Revolution Takes Over''], Matthias Küntzel, The New Republic, 24 April 2006 .</ref>