Posted on 07/09/2004 2:45:43 PM PDT by Pikamax
60,000 foreigners captured as they tried to enter country illegally
Baghdad, Iraq Press, July 9, 2004 – Iraq’s nascent border police have apprehended more than 60,000 foreigners in the past seven months.
The foreigners, most of them Iranians, were trying to enter Iraq illegally, according to major-general Nadhim al-Haj, commander of Iraqi border guards.
Iraq’s borders with Iran stretch for more than 1,000 kilometers and successive governments have found it hard to control.
The former regime of Saddam Hussein reportedly had six military divisions besides a special border force to guard the frontier against Iranian infiltrators.
Officially, there are three entry points on the border, one in Basra in the south, the second in Diyala, in the center, and the third in Sulaimaniya, in the north.
And Iranians had to obtain visas before traveling to Iraq.
Iranian pilgrims were handled carefully and only let to visit the shrines in Najaf and Karbala and stay at designated hotels.
The disbanding of the Iraqi border force and customs police by the US occupation authorities encouraged the Iranians to cross the border in hundreds of thousands.
It is estimated that more than three million of them have entered the country in the six months following the fall of Baghdad last year.
Al-Haj said his forces were tightening security along the country’s borders but it was still hard for them to have the situation fully under control.
The flow of Iranians has slowed due to fighting in holy Shiite centers of Karbala and Najaf.
The shrines in the two cities are among the most sacred for Muslim Shiites in the world.
Interim government officials have repeatedly accused neighboring countries of allowing foreigners to cross the border and carry out sabotage and terror attacks.
The officials have hinted that terrorists captured recently might have entered the country through Iran.
They have urged the country’s neighbors to cooperate with Iraqi authorities to put a halt to illegally entry.
The Iraqi border force commander, al-Haj, said Pakistani and Afghani nationals were among the foreigners captured recently on the Iranian frontier.
Iraqi courts have now a backlog of cases of illegal entry.
Under a new tough security law passed early this week, foreigners caught entering the country illegally face a prison term of at least six months and expulsion.
Oh, that we were as tough on those that enter our country illegally.
how does that number compare to the ones arrested crossing our own boarder ?
how does that number compare to the ones arrested crossing our own boarder ?
Good for them. Too bad we can't do that here in the US!!!
Kinda puts to bed the lie that Iraq is now a terrible place... if it were, there wouldn't be so many people trying to get IN - they'd be trying to get OUT!
one word: landmines
They're trying to get in so that they can have an opportunity to kill American soldiers.
Remember that when someone claims that the "Iraqi people" don't want us there.
Our own "Homeland Security" should take heed.
(Not that it would do much good)
Agreed, the problem could become epic migration and quite a mess for the new government as people from the surrounding countries vote with their feet at the chance for freedom. As the economy improves the situation will only worsen and could become a title wave as we now have.
The big problem is it will be next to impossible to separate the jihadies from the others seeking freedom and opportunity.
Many people often complain (myself included) about illegal Mexican aliens, but I thank the good Lord we do not share a border with Islam.
Iranian Wetbacks?
Yep, that's what I was going to say....this all looks good on a Resume - we may need them to train our guys in the near future ;-)
Perhaps we could rent their border guards for a bit.
wonder bump
Man, that sounds cool...we gotta get ourselves one of those Border Patrol things...
In Arizona we call this 'Saturday night'.
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