WELCOME TO IRAQ: SCENES FROM THE IRAQ-IRAN BORDER CROSSING

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 HILLAH 000044

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/14/2016
TAGS: PBTS PGOV PTER KCRM IR IZ
SUBJECT: WELCOME TO IRAQ: SCENES FROM THE IRAQ-IRAN BORDER CROSSING
AT ZORBATIYAH

HILLAH 00000044 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: GARY ANDERSON, ACTING REGIONAL COORDINATOR, REO,
AL-HILLAH, STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (S/NF) SUMMARY. A March 8 visit by Regional Embassy Office
Al-Hillah staff to the Arafat Border Patrol station and
Zorbatiyah Point of Entry (PoE) confirmed continuing reports of
nearly unrestricted movement of people and goods across the
Iran/Iraq border in Northeast Wasit province. The Border Patrol
checkpoint immediately adjacent to the PoE does not actively
patrol the border, nor does it conduct searches of persons and
vehicles. A nearby parking lot on the Iraqi side through which
all vehicles and pedestrians from Iran must pass before heading
into Iraq is reported to be a major source of illegal revenue
for select members of the Wasit Provincial Council and the
Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). END
SUMMARY.

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EARLY ARRIVAL CATCHES BORDER OFFICIALS BY SURPRISE
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2. (S/NF) On the morning of March 8, Regional Embassy Office
Al-Hillah staff traveled to the Iraqi Border Patrol Arafat
Checkpoint in Northeast Wasit province to meet with Brigadier
General Abdel Rudha, commander of the 170 km of border that
Wasit shares with Iran. The checkpoint is set back approximately
1000 meters (on the Iraqi side) from the administratively
separate Zorbatiyah Point of Entry (PoE) where customs and
immigration inspections are conducted. When REO staff arrived,
the Border Patrol Checkpoint was nearly empty, and General Rudha
was delayed at his office elsewhere. With some delay and visible
consternation, the Iraqi Border Patrol officer in charge of the
checkpoint agreed to brief REO staff on checkpoint operations.
According to the officer, the most pressing problems facing his
men are a lack of vehicles as well as fuel shortages. Both
prevent border troops from conducting patrols in their area of
responsibility.


3. (S/NF) General Rudha arrived approximately twenty minutes
after REO staff. After immediately dismissing his deputy, Rudha
repeated the complaints about a shortage of resources. In
Rudha's opinion the Arafat checkpoint was by far the most
problematic of the approximately twenty under his command,
largely because the Zorbatiyah Point of Entry a short distance
away is not under his control, rather under the control of
General Abdel Rahman of the Ministry of Interior. Rudha related
that at other (sparsely trafficked) Points of Entry, men under
his command controlled both the Point of Entry and the adjacent
Border Patrol checkpoint.


4. (S/NF) According to Rudha, though smuggling is known to be a
widespread problem along the border, the Border Patrol troops
under his command lack the authority to search vehicles after
they clear the Zorbatiyah Point of Entry and move towards the
interior of the province. Rudha also related that he was unable
to fulfill his responsibility of monitoring the constant patrols
from Iranian Revolutionary Guards and regular Iranian Border
Patrol units. NOTE: Rudha's predecessor, a Border Patrol
Colonel, was relieved of his command and arrested in November
2005 on charges of corruption and smuggling. END NOTE.

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ZORBATIYAH POINT OF ENTRY: VEHICULAR AND PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC
PASSES THROUGH UN-INSPECTED
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5. (S/NF) Following the briefing and tour of the Arafat Border
Patrol station, REO staff traveled with Rudha to the Zorbatiyah
Point of Entry (PoE). During the two-minute drive, REO staff
observed a long line of dump trucks and other heavy vehicles
driving un-inspected across the border into a walled-off lot in
Iranian territory. What appeared to be the same trucks then
departed the lot and returned to Iraqi territory without any
apparent inspection by Iraqi authorities. This continued
throughout the visit. Rudha informed REO staff that this took
place on a daily basis, and that the Border Patrol had neither
the authority nor the resources to conduct spot checks on the
trucks.

6.(S/NF) The operational portion of the Zorbatiyah PoE consists
of a large open-walled pavilion leading from the edge of the
Iranian side of the checkpoint into Iraqi territory. Within the
pavilion there are employees of several cabinet ministries
responsible for conducting customs, immigration, and
agricultural inspections. There are also several dilapidated
structures in the complex that are no longer in use. During the
visit of REO staff a steady flow of foot traffic passed through
the building with minimal and/or no apparent inspection.

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7. (S/NF) When REO staff arrived at the PoE, there was very
little visible Iraqi Police or Iraqi Army presence. Within
minutes, several vanloads of soldiers were on site, and
accompanied REO staff on a tour of the complex. REO staff
declined the invitation to visit the line of demarcation between
Iraq and Iran, instead remaining approximately 50-75 meters from
the line as a crowd gathered on the Iranian side of the border.
There were also several trucks (on the Iraqi side) carrying
armed employees of the Al-Ahasan Company, a private firm
providing security for Iranian pilgrims in Iraq.


8. (S/NF) General Abdel Rahman from the Ministry of Interior
then led REO staff on a tour of the Zorbatiyah PoE complex.
Rahman, as always dressed in civilian clothes, complained
vigorously that the PoE was inadequately staffed and lacked
proper detection equipment to search vehicles. NOTE: The IA and
IP forces present at the Zorbatiyah PoE do not report to Rudha
of the Border Patrol, there are questions as to who has final
authority over people, vehicles and goods crossing the border.
In his complaint about inadequate staffing, Rahman did not
acknowledge the nearby presence of Rudha and his Border Patrol
unit. END NOTE.

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THE SHAYKH BASHAR PARKING LOT: SCIRI SHAKEDOWN?
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9. (S/NF) The most thorough inspections of people and goods
appear to take place in a large privately owned parking lot
adjacent to the Border Patrol checkpoint on the Iraqi side. In
October 2005, the Wasit Provincial Council seized control of the
parking lot from Shaykh Bashar Kadhim Essa. According to U.S.
military and provincial contacts, up to USD 30,000 per day is
collected from vehicles passing through this lot. This money is
then shared between officials at the border, members of the
Provincial Council, high-ranking members of the Badr
Organization, with the lions' share directed to the Wasit Branch
of SCIRI. From their vehicles, REO staff were able to observe
inspections of vehicles by unidentified personnel at the parking
lot.


10. (S/NF) COMMENT. The Point of Entry at Zorbatiyah, since its
reopening in 2003, has become the critical border crossing on
Wasit's lengthy border with Iran. During the two-hour long visit
by REO staff, no Iraqi official could conclusively claim
responsibility for the flow of goods and people across the
border. Despite relatively new facilities, the
operations-particularly at Zorbatiyah-had a haphazard and lazy
quality to them. Contacts throughout the province also place
Generals Rudha and Rahman at the center of the pervasive climate
of shakedowns and smuggling along the border. Regardless of the
relatively stable security situation in the province, the border
crossing at Zorbatiyah remains a critical vulnerability. END
COMMENT.
ANDERSON