Iranian Operational Decision Making Case Studies from the Iran-Iraq War

Strategic Studies is a division of CNA. This directorate conducts analyses of security policy, regional analyses, studies of political-military issues, and strategy and force assessments. CNA Strategic Studies is part of the global community of strategic studies institutes and in fact collaborates with many of them. On the ground experience is a hallmark of our regional work. Our specialists combine in-country experience, language skills, and the use of local primary-source data to produce empirically based work. All of our analysts have advanced degrees, and virtually all have lived and worked abroad. Similarly, our strategists and military/naval operations experts have either active duty experience or have served as field analysts with operating Navy and Marine Corps commands. They are skilled at anticipating the " problem after next " as well as determining measures of effectiveness to assess ongoing initiatives. A particular strength is bringing empirical methods to the evaluation of peace-time engagement and shaping activities. The Strategic Studies Division's charter is global. In particular, our analysts have proven expertise in the following areas:  The full range of Asian security issues  The full range of Middle East related security issues, especially Iran and the Arabian Gulf  Maritime strategy  Insurgency and stabilization  Future national security environment and forces  European security issues, especially the Mediterranean littoral  West Africa, especially the Gulf of Guinea  Latin America  The world's most important navies  Deterrence, arms control, missile defense and WMD proliferation The Strategic Studies Division is led by Dr. Eric V. Thompson, who is available at 703-824-2243 or [email protected]. The reproduction of this work for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited. Nongovernmental users may copy and distribute this document in any medium, either commercially or noncommercially, provided that this copyright notice is reproduced in all copies. Nongovernmental users may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or further copying of the copies they make or distribute. Nongovernmental users may not accept compensation of any manner in exchange for copies. All other rights reserved. This paper examines Iranian operational-level military decision-making from the perspective of historical case studies. Specifically, it analyzes the various factors and processes that influenced Iranian military commanders during four major operations of the Iran-Iraq War and what these operations might tell us about current-day military decision-making. Although a significant period of time has elapsed since the war, most of Iran's senior military …