Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Mistake 7 – Failure to Control the Borders
In addition to the Customs authority and police, Iraq had a whole army corps dedicated to monitoring and guarding the very long borders of Iraq (Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 242 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 331 km. Total: 2831 km = 1769 miles).
This Border Guard Force was disbanded with the rest of the Iraqi army. The American army had neither the desire nor the resources to control those borders. The results were catastrophic!
• Looted and stolen materials, vehicles and machinery found a ready market. The unchallenged smuggling business boomed!
• Drugs, previously very little-known in Iraq, were brought into the country and, due to the prevailing lawlessness, began to be sold openly on the streets of our cities.
• Arms, insurgents and terrorists were going back and forth freely across the unguarded borders. Anybody who had a quarrel with the US hoped to settle his accounts with it in Iraq. This included sincere people who came in to help liberate Iraq!
• Neighboring countries, some of whom had a life-and-death interest in keeping the US busy and disoriented in the Iraqi quagmire were operating freely. The US feebly complained!
President Bush even declared that Iraq has become a “battlefield” (I can’t remember the exact words) for the fight against terrorism.
How would you like your own country to be turned into a battlefield for terrorism?
This Border Guard Force was disbanded with the rest of the Iraqi army. The American army had neither the desire nor the resources to control those borders. The results were catastrophic!
• Looted and stolen materials, vehicles and machinery found a ready market. The unchallenged smuggling business boomed!
• Drugs, previously very little-known in Iraq, were brought into the country and, due to the prevailing lawlessness, began to be sold openly on the streets of our cities.
• Arms, insurgents and terrorists were going back and forth freely across the unguarded borders. Anybody who had a quarrel with the US hoped to settle his accounts with it in Iraq. This included sincere people who came in to help liberate Iraq!
• Neighboring countries, some of whom had a life-and-death interest in keeping the US busy and disoriented in the Iraqi quagmire were operating freely. The US feebly complained!
President Bush even declared that Iraq has become a “battlefield” (I can’t remember the exact words) for the fight against terrorism.
How would you like your own country to be turned into a battlefield for terrorism?
