BASRA, Iraq — For years, U.S. and Iraqi officials have talked about the deadly supply of weapons coming from Iran into Iraq, munitions that range from sophisticated bomb-making materials to simple hand-thrown grenades.
But no one has ever caught a smuggler in transit, according to U.S. Army officials working with Iraqi border forces in Basra.
"We need to catch them one time," said Lt. Col. William Benson, commander, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, whose unit recently arrived in Basra to work with the Iraqis at the border. "If we could just catch them coming over one time, we could show the world."
The catching, however, is not up to the Americans, who recently replaced British forces in Basra. Iraqis have been responsible for controlling the borders throughout the war, and it’s only been in the past few months that U.S. forces have turned their attention to the southern portion of the Iraq-Iran border.
The Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement mans border posts, controls immigration and inspects freight trucks crossing the border. It also has a commando unit, a group of border guards who are more like police than watchmen.
It’s these commandos whom Benson will work with before returning to Fort Carson, Colo., at the end of the summer.
An operation by the commandos earlier this month netted AK-47s, grenades and M-16s, one Iraqi official said during a recent visit to their headquarters outside of the city.
When he was asked why the Americans didn’t help with the effort, Benson responded bluntly.
"We weren’t invited," said Benson, 41, of Colorado Springs, Colo.
Benson said he had asked an Iraqi officer involved in the operation for a grid of the target area so the Americans could provide air support if needed. Benson said the man would only provide a vague description of the area.
Benson’s job isn’t to force American assets onto Iraqi officials. In the few weeks he’s been in Basra, he’s found some officers are eager to share information and tactics, and some are not.
He knows to be cautious. On a previous tour in Diyala province, he saw how Iraqi police, who at the time were mainly Shiite, used their authority to hunt down suspected Sunni insurgents. The Americans learned too late that the Shiite police made scores of Sunni enemies who were targeted for their beliefs rather than their actions.
"It took us a long time to figure that out," he said.
Benson also acknowledged it’s taken the Americans a long time to focus on the borders, especially in the south.
"We started on the border way too late," he told an Iraqi border official.
"You are right," said the Iraqi, who asked that his name be withheld for fear of reprisal from his commanders and from terrorists.
Benson pushed him for information. He wanted to see what they knew about a recent bomb that killed Army Maj. Steven Hutchison, a leader of a border guard training unit and a 60-year-old veteran of the Vietnam War.
Benson said the Army thinks it was detonated by a cell phone. So did the Iraqi border official.
"Do you think they do not have intelligence?" the Iraqi said of the smugglers and criminals. "Do you think they do not have cell phones?"
The Iraqi officer then traced a stretch of the Sha’at al Arab waterway south of Basra. He showed the various checkpoints, Iraqi police and Iraqi army, along the way. Then he drew a tiny road, a dirt path near the water and out of sight from the nearest police check.
"This place, right here, it is possible for smugglers," said the official.
Benson said later he knows of the road and thinks it has been blocked or cut so that no vehicle can pass. But he said he would check again.
Still, Benson said he was impressed with the Iraqi’s candor and understanding of the area. Benson has sat through hundreds of meetings with Iraqi officers, and he said the four hours he spent with this officer ranked as one of the most productive exchanges.
It’s about time, he noted later in his office.
"The window is closing," Benson had told the Iraqi official. "The Americans will not be here much longer. That’s why we have to do this now."
