Winter is the killing season in the swamps around the Persian Gulf. It is then that Iran, knowing the heavy rains will blunt the firepower of Iraq's tanks and air force, can most effectively launch its "human wave" assaults against the Iraqi marshlands. For months now, as it has for several winters past, the government of Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini has been threatening to launch a "final offensive" against the Iraqis before the beginning of the Persian new year on March 21.
That offensive seemed at hand two weeks ago, when an estimated 35,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards swarmed across the line dividing...
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