It has been said that excessive militarization is the unavoidable problem
of all the world's militaries. No such problem exists in the NLA. This is
perhaps most apparent At the in the base's library. The large hall room
lined with bookshelves is crowded with combatants 
reading at rectangular wooden tables.
The librarian tells me there are some 3,000 books, mostly in Farsi and some
in other languages. A glimpse at the shelves shows a wide range of styles
and subject matter. In the literature section, one can find Leo Tolstoy's
War and Peace and the plays of Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard. In the periodicals,
Persian weeklies and the latest issues of Newsweek are piled next to each
other Perhaps in response to my look of surprise, the librarian says: "It's
not that the combatants spend all their eisure time at the library! But
reading, along with sports and television, are among their favorite pastimes."
It is only a few minutes distance from the library to the "confiscated weapons exhibit," our next destination. Dusk has already fallen. As we pass, there is a clamor from the dining hall. My guide explains:
"Occasionally, we have movies." Both Persian and foreign films are available. Tonight they are watching "The Man Who Would Be King" and, as the noise suggests, obviously enjoying the masterly performance of Sean Connery and Michael Caine.
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