A professional army can also be established in the relatively stable north.

But you can't run a country with a professional army in the streets.

"I would like to have the largest, most professional private army in the world," he told me.

At times they seemed to be the motive force for the professional army.

"It's going to be very difficult to put it back to a professional army," the official said.

When pressed he says, "This is not a professional army."

The professional British army, however, could hardly have been in a better position.

That has increased pressure to move to a more professional army.

The idea of a professional army is increasingly popular in Spain, too.

The professional army was to be no more than 20,000 men, including internal forces and border guard.