 The people of northeastern Iraq feel more and more like they are being squeezed on two fronts. Though there is some empathy with their ethnic brethren in Iran, many Kurds on this side of the border just don't trust the government in Tehran.Meanwhile, officials in Sulaymaniyah province suspect insurgents are heading their way from elsewhere in Iraq. "There is no doubt there will be an attempt in the future, like there has been before," said Maj. Gen. Mahmood Mohammed Maref, a security chief for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. At best, Iraqi Kurds, the region's dominant group, tolerate Iran because the area is so heavily dependent on the merchandise that moves across the border. And, again, there are the ethnicities that run far deeper than outsiders — and maybe even some insiders — realize.| Sometimes blood is thicker than borders... |
[However], critics have a much different view. An Iraqi general who heads the border patrol in Sulaymaniyah province calls Iranians "abusive." A platoon leader at the Bashmakh port of entry near Penjwin hates his neighbors. He spent three months in an Iranian jail over a visa violation, and 14 years later he still is seething mad about it. "They are wild animals," said Abass Azam, the platoon leader. Such loathing can make any rumor sound plausible. Azam claims, for example, that an Iranian Kurd told him the government in Tehran might be hiding nuclear weapons in northwestern Iran. "Me and my family are willing to sacrifice ourselves for the coalition," he said. "Especially for the U.S. Army."| Thank you, sir. Let's do what we can to make that unnecessary. |
But the pending redeployment of many U.S. soldiers currently based in Sulaymaniyah has some people in the provincial capital shaking their heads in disbelief. Talabani's ascension to the presidency, the deadly bombing in Irbil earlier this month and Kurdish intelligence reports that Islamic terrorists have Sulaymaniyah in their sights have led officials to take extraordinary security measures. The U.S. Army maintains it needs the soldiers elsewhere, and that Kurdistan is considerably more stable and able than the rest of Iraq. "I believe this is a very bad decision," Gen. Ahmed Gharib Muhammed Amin told U.S. Army Capt. Darcy Burt during a recent meeting. "The existence and availability of your soldiers is important and noticed by the Iranians," said Amin, who commands the border police for all of Sulaymaniyah province. "They see American teams on the border." So Iraqis in the region now find themselves looking over their shoulder, no matter which way they face. No one expects the Iranian army to come pouring across the border, but Iraqi security forces along the divide say there have been infiltrators.| Fred's surprise meter's waiting for parts. I hope it's still under warranty. |
And U.S. soldiers who routinely visit the border said many locals have told them Iranian agents sometimes cross the border to gain intelligence and dissuade the populace from cooperating with the Americans. That's unlikely to happen. The Kurdish people in northeastern Iraq have tremendous respect and admiration for the United States and its military. In Kurdish Iraq, people wave to the troops; in too many locations elsewhere, they're liable to wave a gun, or a fist. Soldiers in the region say citizens often approach them asking if they could stand beside them for a photograph.
"The Kurdish people up here are so warm," said Burt, commander of Battery B, 148th Field Artillery. "They call us their liberators, not just us, but all of the soldiers." But as warm as the citizens are, they also can be equally cold and suspicious of strangers, especially if it's someone of Arab descent they don't know. "We will not allow anybody to sneak in," said Maref, the security chief, "but if they do, we will arrest them." In recent weeks, especially since the bombing two weeks ago in Arbil that killed scores of people, roadblocks and checkpoints have become more commonplace. Ultimately, though, the best line of defense against an insurgent attack is not necessarily a guy in a uniform with a gun. "The key is to maintain security in the cities and coordinate with the people," Maref said. "Without the people, we can't control the security." |