This study attempts to answer the following questions on the role of the Iranian armed forces in the fall of the Shah in 1979: (a) Did the armed forces do something that contributed to the causes which led the people of Iran to rise against the Shah? (b) When the demonstrations and riots were staged, did the armed forces manage the situation properly, or did they do something instead that worsened the situation? (c) When the period of final confrontation came, why did the armed forces fall to pieces after a mere three days of minor street fighting? (d) Relatedly, what lessons may be learned from what happened in Iran? Investigation reveals that: (a) the Iranian armed forces contributed to the following causes of the revolution in varying degrees: brutality and other violations of human rights, corruption, economic hardships and excessive military expenditure, and cultural dislocation; (b) during the riots and demonstrations, the armed forces mishandled and exacerbated the situation through the following patterns: use of unnecessary force, resort to "military" half-measures," loss of credibility, failure to "feel the pulse" of the people, and breakdown of discipline; (c) when the final three-day confrontation came, the armed forces had already lost their will to fight and the showdown only formalized their defeat; and (d) the lessons that may be learned from what happened in Iran are: it is not a sound policy for a leader to rely heavily on the backing of the armed forces without broadening the base of his support; national development must be balanced; in times of crisis, the leader must be decisive; the armed forces must be equipped and trained not only to fight against external aggression but to counter internal threats as well; the leader must be provided with accurate information as a basis for correct decisions; the people can be "pushed to the wall" up to a certain extent only; loyalty of the armed forces must not be to the leader alone but to the country above all else; and no armed forces personnel can be expected to massacre hundreds of their countrymen in a direct confrontation.

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