The Industrial-Terrorism Complex

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is more than a division within the Iranian Army, it is a self-contained industrial-military complex which has control of a number of economic sectors as well as political connections within the ruling party.

...the Revolutionary Guard has ... become a leading political and economic force in Iran. One of its veterans, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, became Iran's president in 2005. The force and a network of current and former commanders have also moved into Iran's oil and gas business, won bids on major government construction contracts, and even gained lucrative franchises such as Mercedes-Benz dealerships, the sources say.

"The Revolutionary Guards are quickly emerging as the most prominent actor in Iran," said Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "They're playing an increasingly active role on the domestic political scene, have enormous economic assets and interests, are a key player in the nuclear program, and are essentially running Iranian activities in Iraq and Lebanon."

Mostly as a result of the latter, the US Government has taken the unprecedented step of declaring an organization of a sovereign State a terrorist organization for the first time ever

The United States has decided to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country's 125,000-strong elite military branch, as a "specially designated global terrorist," according to U.S. officials, a move that allows Washington to target the group's business operations and finances.

The Bush administration has chosen to move against the Revolutionary Guard Corps because of what U.S. officials have described as its growing involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as its support for extremists throughout the Middle East, the sources said. The decision follows congressional pressure on the administration to toughen its stance against Tehran, as well as U.S. frustration with the ineffectiveness of U.N. resolutions against Iran's nuclear program, officials said.

The designation of the Revolutionary Guard will be made under Executive Order 13224, which President Bush signed two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to obstruct terrorist funding. It authorizes the United States to identify individuals, businesses, charities and extremist groups engaged in terrorist activities. The Revolutionary Guard would be the first national military branch included on the list, U.S. officials said -- a highly unusual move because it is part of a government, rather than a typical non-state terrorist organization.

The order allows the United States to block the assets of terrorists and to disrupt operations by foreign businesses that "provide support, services or assistance to, or otherwise associate with, terrorists."

Of course the US has already imposed economic and political sanctions on Iran and this new designation, while a logical extension of the US formal policy with regards to Iran, suffers from the same flaw: Europeans are not on board.

Victor Comras writing at the Counterterrorism Blog makes these observations

Taken in unison by key European countries such as Germany, France and the UK, and with Japan, these measures would severely impact Iran's leadership class. But how can this be accomplished? The best way would be to get a new UN Security Council Resolution which specifically includes the IRGC in the list of designated entities supporting Iran’s rogue nuclear weapons program. The current resolutions (UNSCR 1737 and  UNSCR 1747 name only a few such entities, and have left the IRGC free to conduct business activities. (See my previous Blog on the UN's Iran Sanctions Resolutions here) But, progress has been very slow on getting the Security Council to act, given Russia and China’s reticence to enact new sanctions on Iran. So, we can presume that this unilateral action now is a sign that we cannot expect much from the UN at this time. Rather, we will need to use our own leverage to place increased pressure on Iran's leaders.

What will it take to convince our European friends and allies, and Japan to join us even in the absence of a UN resolution. Perhaps these governments, and the companies located in them will think twice about continuing to conduct business as usual with the IRGC and Iran, if they believe the new US designation of the IRGC could entail significant business costs for them also. We need to convince these companies that sensible risk mitigation and good corporate governance means cutting back on their business activities with Iran. And this will depend in large part on their own assessment as to whether the new US designation might really have an impact on their overall business and profitability. Will the Treasury Department take any new regulatory measures to review the actions of overseas branches of foreign banks and companies doing business in the United States that also do business with the IRGC. Will this give new impetus to those in Congress and State Legislatures that are pushing for strengthened measures to encourage US public and private fund divestment in companies doing business with designated terrorist entities? And will this new designation open the door to possible civil litigation against foreign companies doing business with terrorists under the Anti Terrorism Act of 1996. Recent Federal Court rulings have established that foreign companies doing business with terrorist organizations may well be held liable by the victims of terrorism in US courts. (see my blog here) These Rulings could well prove to be among the most important factors in dissuading certain foreign companies that do business in the United States from also conducting business with the IRGC.

The US has more than enough evidence to prove IRGC involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than enough evidence to show direct involvement with the killing of US personnel. More than enough evidence to show they are planning and executing a nuclear weapons program.

But none of these in the past have been enough to convince the Europeans to impose their own economic sanctions on Iran.

And the reason is the inherent economic weakness of the socialist States that make up the European Union; they can't afford to do without the cash generated by trade with a state that wants to rule the world. A weakness some would like to duplicate in this country.

But ultimately, that dependence and that lack of backbone will possibly lead to more bloodshed and likely a more dangerous situation than if they took a strong and united stand against the Industrial-Terrorism Complex which is Iran.