In the 1980s Iran and Iraq fought to a bloody stalemate on a thin strip of desert over access to a waterway, the Shatt al Arab, that had been in dispute since the days of the Ottoman Empire.

The war was a pure fire-power battle resembling the trench warfare of World War I and the set piece charges of the American Civil War.

The tension over the Iran/Iraq border still lingers making border security one of the key missions of US Forces in Iraq.

I spent a day at the Shalamcha Port of Entry, a bustling entry point for Iranian tourists and transhipment point east of Basrah, Iraq.

Every morning hundreds and sometimes thousands of Iranian tourists line up on the Iranian side of the border to enter Iraq.  The tourists arrive in busses, unload, cue up, get their passports stamped then load up in busses on the Iraqi side headed for the holy sites in Karbala or Samarra.

In the afternoon, busses unload tourists heading back to Iran.

Iranian tourists lined up to enter Iraq.

Hundreds of trailer loads of goods also enter Iraq six days a week through Shalamcha.  Tractor trailers park in a load yard on the Iranian side of the border, Iraqi drivers transload the cargo into their trailers, then drive into Iraq where the cargo is weighed, taxed and, at least in theory, inspected by Iraqi customs agents.

Very little cargo is shipped from Iraq into Iran.

The truck gate at the Shalamacha Port of Entry.

Pedestrian lane heading into Iran.

The physical and attitudinal remants of the war between Iraq and Iran still remain.  Firing positions for tanks are still in place and large tank traps still dominate the land scape.

At one time this area had the largest date palm groves in the world, but the land has been stripped bare of vegetation and canal works.

This is a tank trap temporarily filled with water from a rainstorm, not a canal.  The far side is Iran.

The attitudinal remnants of the war physically manifest themselves in the gradual encroachment of Iran at Shalamcha.

In the photo below the green, white and red flag of Iran is only 30 feet from the red, white and black flag of Iraq. Several months ago, the Iranian flag was at the far end of the yellow awning.  If you look closely, on the lower right 1/4 of the photo you can see a metal gate painted green, white and red that is in Iraqi territory.

The Iranian port of entry facilities as viewed from the entry arch to Iraq.

As the clock counts down to the official end of Operation Iraqi Freedom in August when a new phase called Operation New Dawn begins, working with the Iraqi Border Enforcement agency will be one of the key efforts of US Forces in the South and for the 1st Infantry Division. 

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Just when I think I'm out...I get an assignment to cover Iraq.  But since the assignment is to cover the 1st Infantry Division as part of a project for the Cantigny First Infantry Division Museum, I couldn't say no.

The Headquarters of the 1st Infantry Division--The Big Red One--is running the United States Division--South out of Basra.

I flew from Kabul to Dubai on Kam airlines and stayed the night at the Holiday Inn Express Airport.  I'm becoming an authority on the H.I. Expresses of Dubai, so far I like the Airport one the best.  I flew Emirates Airlines to Kuwait and then took a Blackhawk from the military transit point Contingency Operating Base Basra.

The second largest and most economically powerful city in Iraq, Basra is key terrain in the current stability operations in Iraq.  Basra is Iraq's only port, and for a oil producing nation, ports are essential.

In the 1980s, the Iran/Iraq war was fought,in part, over access to the Persian Gulf.  Iraq's access is limited to a narrow confluence called the Shaat al Arab--more of wide, deep river mouth than anything else.

Being so close to Iran, checking the persian influence is a key component of the work of US Forces and diplomats in Basra.  US Forces also work with Iraqi forces on border security.

Here are some snapshots with my little digicam from the helicopter flight from Kuwait to Basra.

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After a spate of attacks in central Kabul a few months ago, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan supposedly stepped up security in the capital.

The also seemed to hire a PR firm to come up with a catchy phrase for the stepped up security--Ring of Steel.

So at the usual checkpoints staffed by police officers, there are these big metal signs.

 I am sure they will deter the Taliban.

An M-ATV, rolls into a parking lot outside of Camp Dubs.  The remains of the Royal Queen's palace are in the background.

The M-ATV is two analogies and a seriously bad idea.  Using the M-ATV for true combat operations makes about as much sense as its name.

The "M" stands for MRAP which is Mine Resistant Ambush Protected.  The "ATV" stands for All Terrain Vehicle.  The All Terrain part should be in air quotes because there is a lot of terrain in Afghanistan the M-ATV is not rated for.

(Read Part I here)

The Musahe District, southwest of Kabul on the border of Logar province, is dotted with small villages in the valleys low, rocky mountains.  The Directorate of National Security says that the Taliban uses it is as a staging ground for attacks on Kabul.  District police officers report Taliban activity ranging from criminal extortion to planting bombs on the roads to target Afghan security forces and ISAF coalition forces.

As part of the Validation Transition Team's assessment of the 1st Battalion, 111st Afghan National Army Divsion, they wanted to ride along on a mission in Musahe District.

The VTT is NATO/ISAF's internal reviewer of the readiness and operational abilities of Afghan Army units.  When Congress and think-tanks release reports on the state of the Afghan National Army, they are largely based on the work of the VTT.

The upcoming reviews of President Obama's strategic plan for Afghanistan, which relies on increasing the size of the Afghan security forces, will use the work of the VTT.

To properly assess a unit the VTT follows them on a mission from beginning to end--from the planning phase to the after action review.

On the afternoon when the Battalion Commander, Colonel Zalmat Nbard was supposed to review the mission with the VTT it became very obvious that the planning phase had never even been considered.

Col. Nbard, MAJ Gries, MAJ Johnson and Wally

The Musahe District is within Nbard's area of operations.  He is tasked by his higher headquarters with patrolling the area no less than once a week.  Heading out to Musahe is a routine operation and hardly worthy of a full blown process.  Many American units have regular operations and just update the plan with the latest intelligence.  Majors Gries and Johnson understood how this was a regularly scheduled patrol and tried to get the Colonel to walk them through the basics--which should have been pretty easy since he did it every week--it wasn't.