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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/31/AR2007033101105.html
Revolutionary Guard Broadens Its Influence in Iran
[Washington Post] Robin Wright - Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the elite unit at the heart of the latest Middle East crisis, has greater power today than at any point since the revolution's early days to export Islamic militancy and challenge the West's presence in the region, say U.S. officials and Iran experts. Its naval forces abducted 15 British sailors and marines. Its special forces unit is operating deep in Iraq, providing militias with deadly roadside explosives used against American troops. It supplied missiles used by Hizbullah last summer in the longest war Arabs ever fought with Israel. And it now plays the largest role in Iran's ambitious military industries, including attempted acquisition of nuclear weapons and surface-to-surface missiles, according to Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Revolutionary Guard has also become a leading political and economic force in Iran.