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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Washington File

16 May 2003

Text: Iraqi Local Authorities and Coalition Endorse Customs Agreement

(Agreement supports legal trade across Iraqi borders) (1040)
(begin text)
By Private First Class James Matise
101st Airborne Division Public Affairs Office
RABIA, Iraq (May 15, 2003) -- A trade accord governing the reopening
of the border crossing here after two months has been signed by Mosul
interim government officials, local tribal officials and endorsed by
Coalition leadership was signed May 7.
Mosul interim mayor Ghanim Al-Baso, Mosul customs minister Turkey
Hazaa'a and Sheike Fenar Ahmad Sfwok of the local Al-Shammari tribe
signed the accord. It was fully endorsed by Maj. Gen. David H.
Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Division and Coalition
forces in northern Iraq.
"Today, everybody wins," Petraeus said.
The agreement was a product of meetings between Mosul officials and
the Al-Shammari tribe, gathered together by Col. Michael S.
Linnington, commander of the 101st division's 3rd Brigade, and Lt.
Col. Lee Fetterman, commander of 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry
Regiment, 3rd Brigade. Negotiations and meetings between business
officials and faction leaders across the province also played a part
in restoring local trade.
With the resumption of trade, businesses will profit, the people will
be able to obtain necessary goods, competition will drive prices down,
and the government will have more funds to operate on, Petraeus said.
The division commander also signed an address to the Syrian side of
the crossing notifying them the Iraqi side of the border was open for
trade and the customs office was authorized by Coalition forces to
perform its duties, encouraging the Syrian office to open its border
to trade as well, Petraeus said.
Last week, Mosul leaders alerted Petraeus to a potential crisis
because the border with Syria was closed. The import-dependent region
was beginning to feel the strain of the lack of trade from Syria.
"Frankly, we couldn't wait for Baghdad to try and get this process
started," said Col. Richard O. Hatch, division staff judge advocate.
Petraeus exercised his authority as Coalition forces commander in
northern Iraq to remove all barriers to the movement of people and
goods. Meeting with Hatch, Petraeus wanted to find out what could
legally be done to reopen the border. They researched trade
restrictions according to U.S. law and United Nations Security Council
resolutions, and reinforced the authority of those regulations in the
accord, saying that nothing in the agreement will supersede those
regulations, Hatch said.
The agreement calls for bona fide traders to be allowed access to
Iraq, bringing in necessary items such as fuel, building materials,
machinery and parts for industrial and agriculture equipment, and
personal consumables. Import and export of such items was defined in
the agreement as "legal trade," Hatch said.
Banned imports include narcotics and other contraband considered
illegal by U.S. law, military equipment and "dual-use" items banned
under U.N. resolutions, Hatch said.
"The agreement also directs customs police to prevent travel into
Syria of any people Coalition forces are looking for," Hatch said.
They will interdict such persons and provide support for the
interdiction of drugs and contraband. The only thing that will come in
is legal trade."
Nothing is currently being exported into Syria, since their side of
the border remains closed for now, said Hatch. But the agreement also
provides for the export of items allowed by U.S. law and U.N.
resolutions. The only exception to this is the added prohibition of
liquid propane gas exports, used for cooking, because of the current
shortage on the local market, according to the agreement, he added.
Fetterman will be the ultimate authority over the customs and border
operations as the senior Coalition commander in the area, said Hatch.
A deputy manager from the Iraq customs ministry in Mosul and a
representative from the area tribe will assist Fetterman, Hatch said.
Import tariffs are set to the level they were prior to the fall of the
Iraqi regime, and, to counter corruption, any official who collects
more than his due faces immediate termination at the discretion of
Fetterman and his deputies, Hatch said.
The parties to the accord paid close attention to the sensitivities of
neighboring Syria, which has expressed concerns over the potential
political and military fallout of the U.S.-led campaign to free the
Iraqi people. The division and local leaders hoped the Syrians would
also open their borders soon, Hatch said.
"There are many concerns voiced by the Syrian people," Hatch said.
"(Syrian border officers) were told to close the border so former
Iraqi regime officials couldn't go over but I don't think they meant
to keep it closed to legal trade."
The agreement was a result of much cooperation, concession and
compromise. For instance, in the days that led up to the signing of
the agreement, Mosul officials had gone to talk with the Kurds
operating the border crossing with Turkey and asked them to lower
their tariffs so they would be on the same level as those coming in
from Syria, Petraeus said.
"To encourage competition...the taxes on the border of Turkey have
been lowered dramatically," Petraeus said. "So it's a great example of
what can be achieved when there's compromise on all sides."
Naif Sfook Al-Faisal, a local tribal leader, expressing his "deepest
appreciation for the U.S. government and people which give us freedom,
hope and a democratic future," told Petraeus the Iraqi people "still
have to liberate ourselves from the old and complicated things we have
absorbed over the years."
Faisal asked Petraeus if it would be possible to begin building an
Iraqi military force so they could help protect the borders that had
been recently reopened. Petraeus said such a force was already on the
way -- starting with one infantry company composed entirely of Iraqi
forces.
The trade accord will remain in effect until a national commerce or
trade ministry is put in place in Baghdad, which will have the power
and resources to form a national trade policy for Iraq, Hatch said.
This article was first published on the U.S. Army's Internet website,
http://www.dtic.mil/armylink/news/stories/, which carries many
first-hand accounts of U.S. activities in Iraq.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)



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