GLA

Global Liberation Army
The GLA Logo
Playstyle	Desert Warfare
Faction Colour	Olive Green and Desert Yellow
Type	Paradox Minor-Faction
Dev. Status	50% Modelled

"You enjoyed seeing my heart suffering.
Suffering caused by your cruelty and empty days.
You listened to my cries as if they were music.
While I was burning in the fire of their echo."

- "Lissa Faker" ("Do You Still Remember?") by Oum Koulthoum

The Global Liberation Army, or GLA, is a minor faction in Red Alert 3 Paradox. They will be encountered in several campaign missions, and may be present on some skirmish missions as neutral vehicles, or even a hostile force. They are based on their counterparts in "Command and Conquer: Generals".

Background

Global Liberation Army Diplomatic Relations
Faction	Relationship
Allied Nations	War
Confederate Revolutionaries	Hostile
Soviet Union	War
Empire of the Rising Sun	Hostile
Order of the Talon	War
Atomic Kingdom of China	Hostile
Mediterranean Syndicate	War
Electrical Protectorate	Unknown

The Fanatics

There are many organizations in the world not happy with the way the Allies and Soviets have divided up the world into supporters and enemies. These organizations reject both the dogma of communism and the secularism of the Allies for their own path, and one of the largest of these organizations is the so-called "Global Liberation Army".

Hailing primarily from the Middle East, they preach a jihadist fundamentalist interpretation of the Qur'an and take violent action against all they see as aggressors. They virtually control much of the region, including Saudi Arabia and much of Palestine, and have been engaged in running battles with Allied, Iranian Communist, Syndicate, and Talon forces for several years now.

The Road Paved With Good Intentions

The earliest origins of the GLA started with various nationalist movements in the Middle East, such as Al-Fatat or various rebel forces that fought against the British and French rulers in regions such as Iraq and Syria. Many of these fighters held to the idea of Pan-Arabism, a single unified Arab state that would throw away the artificial "nations" created by Western colonial powers and create a new Arab nation from the ashes. Though often unsuccessful, these movements cost the colonial powers in men and money, earning the Arab movements greater rights and freedoms in their own individual nations. It also earned fierce crackdowns, and many times Arabs who were content with their lives soon found new work to be done in fighting alongside their countrymen.

Global Liberation Army Minor Diplomatic Relations
Faction	Relationship
Army of the Republic of Vietnam	Hostile
Allied Reservists	War
National Revolutionary Army	Hostile
Vietcong	Hostile
Communist China	Hostile
Global Liberation Army	N/A
International Inc	Hostile
Cult of the Black Hand	Unknown

Filth and Corruption

While at first led by intellectuals educated if Western school and holding to ideas like personal freedoms and a new national pride, the long march of time combined with both internal power struggles and external threats meant that the Pan-Arab movement fractured. Some became intensely bitter about British control in Palestine. French authorities struggled to contain Syrian fighters, with one of the biggest blows coming in the form of the death of King Ghazi of Iraq, a staunch militarist with an intense passion for Arab nationalism against Western powers. Though a man who often wanted to militarily annex Kuwait, other Arab nationalists from the country preferred him to the British-backed al-Sabah family. His death via car crash in 1939 decimated his movement, though many military officers believed his death the result of British agents. This claim was reinforced time and again, as many Pan-Arab leaders were often killed or died under unexpected circumstances. By the Second World War, Pan-Arabism had been broken into multiple nationalist fronts, though a strong core of believers in the original Pan-Arab movement attempted to carry the ideals forward.

Route Canal

The biggest blessing to Arab nationalism as a movement came in 1952, when Egypt started a revolution against the ruling monarchy led by officers in the British-trained Egyptian military. One of the chief leaders of this movement was Gamal Abdel Nasser, who with many others saw the war with the Soviets as the best chance to finally seize Arab self-rule. After a short revolution, the Egyptian military deposed the king, and in the place of the monarchy came the Republic of Egypt, with Nasser's force of personality setting him up as the premier ruler of the new nation. Though many debate his actual political skill, the Egyptian people consider him a national hero, lionized for his nationalization of the Suez Canal Company despite the efforts of the British in 1956. Already worn from the war, the British and French could only send token forces to try and force the Egyptians to retake the canal, their impotence stirring greater Arab pride and efforts. Unfortunately, Nasser was a man who made enemies, one of the greatest being the Muslim Brotherhood, religious fundamentalists that wanted a new Islamic government instead of a leftist-leaning nationalist government. Nasser's death in 1964 from a heart attack loosened the floodgates of a new threat.

From a Cloudless Sky

For some time before the Third World War, the Arab nationalist movement was slowly being subsumed by a more radical group. Hardline religious extremists found new power in the rapidly changing world, siphoning support away from the Pan-Arab movements by calling with a more common cry of a religious paradise, promising the poor and destitute a world without foreign powers. It is a cry not based on equality of men and a new political life, but one based on the expulsion of all that is different dressed up to beguile the listener into believing they are fighting for a just cause. Often, the GLA recruits and enlists from the most poorly-educated and desperate sections of society, young men and boys who have nothing but anger, and see ever greater Allied and Soviet encroachments as the most obvious changes in their world, but also (something that comes as a surprise to outsiders) the otherwise-aimless youth of middle-class & even affluent families, often educated in Western universities, seeking to "redeem" themselves from a lifetime of "sins" (like drinking & partying) by martyring themselves against the "infidels". Normally these men would pose as much of a threat to any world power as a .22 to an Apocalypse, but two factors have helped their survival. First, these crazed fighters for the GLA are not professional soldiers. They will often undertake strategies and plans that many sane commanders would balk at and refuse to even consider, a blind spot that has so far allowed the amateur GLA fighters to cause more trouble than many military commanders expected. The second is that many powerful people in the Arab world see the GLA as a valuable tool to use and discard. Oil sheiks, water rights owners, ruling families, all have uses for the GLA against the Allies and Soviets, and their own political enemies. Where the Arab nationalist movement sought to unite the Arabian Peninsula, more and more GLA leaders are trying to outmaneuver one another, various private companies, and some of the most powerful entities in the geopolitical spectrum.

Our Homes are in Peril

Currently, the largest battlegrounds of the GLA's "war of freedom" are the Arabian Peninsula, Palestine, and Afghanistan. In Saudi Arabia, the GLA cells are fighting against what many see as a forced homogenization into a "proper" democracy by the Allies, completely ignoring ancient beliefs and traditions held for hundreds of years, as well as trying to continue some trace of the Arab Nationalist movement by keeping the oil fields in the hands of those that could actually benefit from them. In Palestine, the GLA claims to be fighting a force of men using weapons of brass and clockwork, but most dismiss these reports as heavily exaggerated, or the result of the average undereducated GLA fighter mistaking advanced machinery for such construction. Finally, the mountains of Afghanistan are a constant battleground between GLA militia, Legion Security contractors, and bribed GLA warlords under the "indirect contract" of Legion Security. Despite these vast differences, the GLA as a whole fight for their "war of freedom" with the same underestimated skill as a Soviet conscript, with the same zealous nature as a Confederate minuteman, and with the same security in their destiny as an Imperial warrior.

Army

Global Liberation Army Minor Diplomatic Relations
Faction	Relationship
Army of the Republic of Vietnam	Hostile
Allied Reservists	War
National Revolutionary Army	Hostile
Vietcong	Hostile
Communist China	Hostile
Global Liberation Army	N/A
International Inc	Hostile
Cult of the Black Hand	Unknown

"The obvious ones don't scare me anymore. The screamers, the runners, they don't scare me. Sight'em, freeze'em, goop'em, shoot'em if they get too close. No, the worst ones are the quiet ones. The ones who just blend in with the population. The ones who fire a shot and run. I can't look at a crowd of people anymore without thinking, "Maybe I should just freeze 'em all." And sometimes, I think that we should do worse than freezing."

- Peacekeeper Sgt. Earl MacCallister, in an off-the-record interview with the Associated Press.

Units

	Rebel	An unfortunate combination of enthusiastic, badly trained and ill-equipped, Rebels try to use their bolt-action weapons and submachine guns to good effect and usually fail miserably. They can, however, fade effectively into shifting urban crowds, making fighting them a frustrating prospect.
	Guerrilla	Various females who joined their male comrades in arms to fight against the oppression of both the Soviet Union and the Allied Nations, they're armed with booby traps and Stinger missiles to terrorize infidels on the ground or in the air respectively. Like their fathers and brothers, they are disguised as civilians when not attacking.
	Terrorist	Under their flowing robes, these fanatics conceal explosives, and use themselves as the delivery method, often disguising themselves as civilians to get past defenses.
	Cobra Gun Truck	The Cobra Gun Truck has room for up to five passengers, and the machine gun on its back can target air and ground targets equally, though the truck can't take many hits before being transformed into scrap metal. Fortunately, the open topped design allows passengers to survive crashes.
	Sand Scorpion	Manufactured by International Inc, these swift moving light tanks are geared towards armored combat. While they are severely lacking in durability, their armor-piercing cannons can penetrate even superheavy tank armor, and their rocket launchers add some extra punch.
	Toxin Tractor	Jury-rigged farm tractors, Toxin Tractors are armed with improvised hoses and tanks full of an extremely potent version of DDT that slaughters infantry. Alternatively, they can use a powerful acid to eat away at fortifications. When towing a mine cart, a Tractor is slowed but capable of carry much more ore than a Worker does and becomes amphibous, thanks to the spare pontoons in the cart.
	V2 Rocket Launcher	A relic of the last war, the V2 launcher is far from nimble and is very slow to reload, though this is partly offset by its extreme range. Additionally, it can switch between high explosive rockets that can flatten bases and DDT warheads that are horrifically effective against infantry.
	Devastation Toxin Plane	Old crop dusters, these planes spray a far more potent and deadly version of the pesticides they once used, though these chemicals are just as effective against humans as they are against insects. In addition, they can ignite their toxins and leave behind a fiery trail, useful for deterring pursuit by fighters.
	Radar Van	A dilapidated van turned into a mobile radar station. Its innocuous appearance helps it escape notice and it can jam radio frequencies to prevent enemies from receiving new orders.
	Worker	Either a peasant unfortunate enough to be conscripted by GLA or a Rebel demoted for insubordinations, the Worker is chained to a mine cart, which carries pontoons and a rowboat for sea collecting, that he's forced to pull. As a ore collector, the Worker is slow, fragile and carries the least ore, but is incredibly cheap. He can also attach his cart to a Toxin Tractor to make a more effective collector, and remain there until ordered to detach his cart from the tractor.

Watercraft

Corsair Raiding Cutter

A ramshackle cutter adopted by GLA Warlords who have territory close to the seas or oceans, most popular in the Persian Gulf and Somalia. Blasting apart vessels and aircraft with its autocannon and leaving sea mines to set up deadly ambushes.

Structures

	Palace	These large buildings serve as the training centers and royal holdings for GLA leaders. Much of their forces train and are stored here for the call to action. They tend to be as royally dressed up as they are filled with secondhand equipment.
	Black Market	Being in the crossroads of Asia and Europe, the Middle East has many markets and bazaars filled with all manner of goods and trinkets. However there are just as many illicit marketplaces as well where just about anything can be bought or sold, legal or not. The GLA has easy access to many of these markets to purchase equipment and raise funds for the cause.
	Tunnel Entrance	These man-made structures are designed to provide both a defense for GLA encampments but also facilitate for the rapid transit for many GLA insurgents and vehicles. Topped with a "purchased" Lee Quad AA gun and a large stockpile of old WW2 Panzerfaust rockets, it is able to provide an adequate enough defense for GLA bases and an entryway to the GLA tunnel networks.
	Stinger Site	Purchased en-masse from International Inc, these camo covered entrenchments are armed with the finest budget anti air weapons that money can afford. Naturally stealthed they make for the perfect deterrent for aircraft flying over GLA airspace so long as if they aren't detected.

White Guard Reinforcements

These forces can be called upon during Minor Faction Deathmatch. The White Guard are professional soldiers, trained and equipped to capitalize on the untrained efforts of the common GLA fighter.

	Guardsman	Armed with a Browning Automatic Rifle, these soldiers of the Saudi White Guard are also authorized to call in long-range mortar strikes.
	Saracen Transport	Custom-built by the British for desert warfare, the Saracen is a six wheeled transport with impressive armor, a quad machine gun turret effective against infantry and aircraft, and room for four soldiers.
	Armadillo Tank	Long ago, the British sold the license for the Armadillo, one of the toughest tanks of its era, to Saudi Arabia. Now, these tanks roll across the deserts, capable of absorbing massive amounts of firepower. They can also whip up sandstorms, obscuring other units but drawing fire to themselves.
	Marauder Tank	More accurately a tank destroyer than a tank, the Marauder makes up for its lack of technical innovation with sheer brutal power. Rebel White Guard Marauders are also able to use potent toxin filled shells, which are highly lethal to infantry.

Deathmatch Protocols

	Angry Mob	An X number of Rebels and Guerrillas emerge from a targeted civilian building
	Mail Bomb	GLA air mails a package onto the battlefield, through a hired syndicate air mail service. A suspiciously ticking package....
	IED Array	A building is equipped with with some IED's around it, causing any enemy who comes to close to be blown up.

Behind the Scenes

• Based on everyone's favourite terrorists, the Global Liberation Army (GLA) from Generals.

Global Liberation Army Paradox-Exclusive Mini-Faction.
Infantry	Rebel • Guerrilla • Terrorist
Combat Vehicles	Cobra Gun Truck • Sand Scorpion
Support Vehicles	Toxin Tractor • V2 Rocket Launcher
Aircraft	Devastation Toxin Plane
Watercraft	Corsair Raiding Cutter
Structures	Palace • Black Market • Tunnel Entrance • Stinger Site
White Guard Reinforcements	Guardsman • Saracen Transport • Armadillo Tank • Marauder Tank
Detailed Information	GLA Leadership • Divide in the Middle East • Black Market Upgrades • Black Market Upgrade Visuals