Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Media: The Associated Press
Byline: By ELENA BECATOROS
Date: 21 September 2006
Body:
ON THE IRAQ-IRAN BORDER_They travel light, setting up camp among sand dunes
littered with anti-tank mines and blackened fragments of old artillery
shells. By day, they race across vast expanses of desert where the Arab and
Persian worlds collide _ the old front lines of the Iran-Iraq war.
Their mission: to secure the border against the smuggling of deadly
technology and weapons from Iran that U.S. politicians and military
officials charge could have a devastating effect in the fight against Iraq's
raging insurgency.
British soldiers in Maysan, a lawless, tribal province in southeastern Iraq,
have borrowed tactics from the World War II desert campaign. They have
modeled themselves on the Long Range Desert Group, the special unit that
played an instrumental role in the victory against Nazi troops by getting
behind enemy lines and gathering intelligence for British military
headquarters.
Shedding their heavy armor vehicles for lighter, faster Scimitars _ small,
tracked armored reconnaissance vehicles with 30 mm cannon, and for
open-topped military Land Rovers fitted with machine guns, the soldiers are
able to roam the scorching desert to deter or catch potential smugglers that
have caused such concern among U.S. officials.
"The bulk of our concerns from our superior headquarters refer to weapon
trafficking on the border," said Brig. James Everard, commander of Britain's
20th Armored Brigade in the southern city of Basra. "And a belief that the
flow of those weapons was underpinning the insurgent campaign, not only in
Basra but more particularly in Baghdad."
The U.S. has accused Iran of providing insurgents with the technology to
build powerful roadside bombs, or IEDs _ improvised explosive devices _ that
have been used with devastating effect against U.S.-led coalition soldiers,
including armor-piercing "shaped charges" developed by Iranian-backed
Hezbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon.
"The Iranians, through their covert special operations forces, are providing
weapons, IED technology and training to Shia extremist groups in Iraq, the
training being conducted in Iran and in some cases probably in Lebanon
through their surrogates," said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, spokesman for the
U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.
"They are using surrogates to conduct terrorist operations in Iraq both
against the Coalition and against the Iraqi people," Johnson said. "It is
decidedly unhelpful."
Tehran has rejected the accusations, although it has not ruled out the
possibility that some infiltrators might crossed the 1,500 kilometer
(900-mile) border illegally.
Johnson said Iraqi and Coalition forces have seized Iranian-made explosives
in Iraq, some of which were made after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003,
indicating they entered the country relatively recently.
"These IEDs are used by Shia extremist groups in Baghdad and the surrounding
area as well as in southeastern Iraq in the Basra area," he said, adding
that "there are indications of more than rogue activity, of some central
direction from somebody in Tehran."
But while accusations abound, British forces in Maysan _ who deployed as
roving reconnaissance teams in the desert in late August, but had been
conducting patrols to the border from their base near the volatile city of
Amarah for months _ say they have yet to see concrete evidence.
Everard, the British commander, said he has discussed possible Iranian
influence with U.S. military commander in Iraq Gen. George Casey and Lt.
Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who is responsible for U.S. military operations in
Iraq, several times.
"It's just a question of intelligence versus evidence. I think traditionally
one has wanted to see it with one's own eyes," he said. "Because these are
serious allegations that people are deliberately, as part of formal policy,
putting weapons across a border into another sovereign country."
It is this evidence that the soldiers of the Queen's Royal Hussars are
seeking _ that, and to stop the weapons coming through.
"We have no proof. There are lots of indications that there is Iranian
influence. We'll either prove there is, or _ it's hard to prove a negative,"
said QRH commanding officer Lt. Col. David Labouchere.
It is the roadside bomb technology that causes the most concern.
"These technologies do develop and are moving around and amongst terrorist
groups and some of them will pass from Iran to Iraq. They're certainly a
problem," Labouchere explained, looking out across the sand dunes to the
foothills of Iran rising in the distance. "Every single weapon that comes
across that border and could be used against multinational forces is a
problem."
"So I fear every piece of technology, weapon, terrorist, who comes into this
country with the aim of doing us harm. And that gives me a pretty good
reason to work hard, start early and finish late, to do this job right."
His soldiers set up camp under camouflage nets, changing location every few
nights to avoid being targeted. With blistering heat that logistics officer
Maj. David Sparks said has frequently topped 60 Celsius (140 Fahrenheit),
heating food and water is simple _ a few minutes resting on a sand dune or
the hood of a Land Rover is all that's needed.
While they've adopted the tactics of World War II, they can now rely on
modern technology _ with helicopters airlifting essential supplies _
particularly water _ every few days.
Their mere presence could stem smuggling.
"What we are doing is disrupting and deterring," said Maj. Dominic Roberts,
officer commanding of B Squadron, the Queens Dragoon Guards, whose temporary
camp in the desert was near that of Labouchere's. "But it is hard to measure
success. ... We have found no as yet credible information, let alone
evidence, to suggest there has been any" weapons smuggling.
Military officials hope securing the border will eventually lead to a
reduction of attacks in the capital.
"We believe we can have ... effect of general or of real meaning to the
campaign as a whole," Everard said. "One that affected probably the center
of gravity, i.e. Baghdad."
Stopping all smuggling across the entire border is probably impossible,
Labouchere conceded. "It's a pretty big area to look after with one
battlegroup. So we're never quite going to seal it all up."
"There will still be the odd diamond smuggling, carpets coming through,
backhanders at the border. That will still happen," he said. "But what we
can do is stop the weapons and the technology from coming through."
Byline: By ELENA BECATOROS
Date: 21 September 2006
Body:
ON THE IRAQ-IRAN BORDER_They travel light, setting up camp among sand dunes
littered with anti-tank mines and blackened fragments of old artillery
shells. By day, they race across vast expanses of desert where the Arab and
Persian worlds collide _ the old front lines of the Iran-Iraq war.
Their mission: to secure the border against the smuggling of deadly
technology and weapons from Iran that U.S. politicians and military
officials charge could have a devastating effect in the fight against Iraq's
raging insurgency.
British soldiers in Maysan, a lawless, tribal province in southeastern Iraq,
have borrowed tactics from the World War II desert campaign. They have
modeled themselves on the Long Range Desert Group, the special unit that
played an instrumental role in the victory against Nazi troops by getting
behind enemy lines and gathering intelligence for British military
headquarters.
Shedding their heavy armor vehicles for lighter, faster Scimitars _ small,
tracked armored reconnaissance vehicles with 30 mm cannon, and for
open-topped military Land Rovers fitted with machine guns, the soldiers are
able to roam the scorching desert to deter or catch potential smugglers that
have caused such concern among U.S. officials.
"The bulk of our concerns from our superior headquarters refer to weapon
trafficking on the border," said Brig. James Everard, commander of Britain's
20th Armored Brigade in the southern city of Basra. "And a belief that the
flow of those weapons was underpinning the insurgent campaign, not only in
Basra but more particularly in Baghdad."
The U.S. has accused Iran of providing insurgents with the technology to
build powerful roadside bombs, or IEDs _ improvised explosive devices _ that
have been used with devastating effect against U.S.-led coalition soldiers,
including armor-piercing "shaped charges" developed by Iranian-backed
Hezbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon.
"The Iranians, through their covert special operations forces, are providing
weapons, IED technology and training to Shia extremist groups in Iraq, the
training being conducted in Iran and in some cases probably in Lebanon
through their surrogates," said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, spokesman for the
U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.
"They are using surrogates to conduct terrorist operations in Iraq both
against the Coalition and against the Iraqi people," Johnson said. "It is
decidedly unhelpful."
Tehran has rejected the accusations, although it has not ruled out the
possibility that some infiltrators might crossed the 1,500 kilometer
(900-mile) border illegally.
Johnson said Iraqi and Coalition forces have seized Iranian-made explosives
in Iraq, some of which were made after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003,
indicating they entered the country relatively recently.
"These IEDs are used by Shia extremist groups in Baghdad and the surrounding
area as well as in southeastern Iraq in the Basra area," he said, adding
that "there are indications of more than rogue activity, of some central
direction from somebody in Tehran."
But while accusations abound, British forces in Maysan _ who deployed as
roving reconnaissance teams in the desert in late August, but had been
conducting patrols to the border from their base near the volatile city of
Amarah for months _ say they have yet to see concrete evidence.
Everard, the British commander, said he has discussed possible Iranian
influence with U.S. military commander in Iraq Gen. George Casey and Lt.
Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who is responsible for U.S. military operations in
Iraq, several times.
"It's just a question of intelligence versus evidence. I think traditionally
one has wanted to see it with one's own eyes," he said. "Because these are
serious allegations that people are deliberately, as part of formal policy,
putting weapons across a border into another sovereign country."
It is this evidence that the soldiers of the Queen's Royal Hussars are
seeking _ that, and to stop the weapons coming through.
"We have no proof. There are lots of indications that there is Iranian
influence. We'll either prove there is, or _ it's hard to prove a negative,"
said QRH commanding officer Lt. Col. David Labouchere.
It is the roadside bomb technology that causes the most concern.
"These technologies do develop and are moving around and amongst terrorist
groups and some of them will pass from Iran to Iraq. They're certainly a
problem," Labouchere explained, looking out across the sand dunes to the
foothills of Iran rising in the distance. "Every single weapon that comes
across that border and could be used against multinational forces is a
problem."
"So I fear every piece of technology, weapon, terrorist, who comes into this
country with the aim of doing us harm. And that gives me a pretty good
reason to work hard, start early and finish late, to do this job right."
His soldiers set up camp under camouflage nets, changing location every few
nights to avoid being targeted. With blistering heat that logistics officer
Maj. David Sparks said has frequently topped 60 Celsius (140 Fahrenheit),
heating food and water is simple _ a few minutes resting on a sand dune or
the hood of a Land Rover is all that's needed.
While they've adopted the tactics of World War II, they can now rely on
modern technology _ with helicopters airlifting essential supplies _
particularly water _ every few days.
Their mere presence could stem smuggling.
"What we are doing is disrupting and deterring," said Maj. Dominic Roberts,
officer commanding of B Squadron, the Queens Dragoon Guards, whose temporary
camp in the desert was near that of Labouchere's. "But it is hard to measure
success. ... We have found no as yet credible information, let alone
evidence, to suggest there has been any" weapons smuggling.
Military officials hope securing the border will eventually lead to a
reduction of attacks in the capital.
"We believe we can have ... effect of general or of real meaning to the
campaign as a whole," Everard said. "One that affected probably the center
of gravity, i.e. Baghdad."
Stopping all smuggling across the entire border is probably impossible,
Labouchere conceded. "It's a pretty big area to look after with one
battlegroup. So we're never quite going to seal it all up."
"There will still be the odd diamond smuggling, carpets coming through,
backhanders at the border. That will still happen," he said. "But what we
can do is stop the weapons and the technology from coming through."