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Who are the NLA?

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One of the many hard questions about the war in Iraq is what the United States will do about something called the National Liberation Army. The NLA is a well-trained brigade of perhaps 15,000 men outfitted with heavy artillery, rockets, and tanks. Its troops are headquartered less than 30 miles west of Baghdad, though some recent news accounts say they have moved toward Kurdish areas in northern Iraq. Although the NLA soldiers are Iranians, they are avowed opponents of Iran’s clerical rulers and have made common cause with Saddam Hussein. Indeed the NLA has served as part of Saddam’s internal security operation and even helped him put down Kurdish and Shiite rebels.

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