WITH MARINES IN OPERATION PROVIDE COMFORT                              51


   On the Iraqi side of the Habur border crossing, a four-color Iraqi flag
fluttered over the customs house manned by a small border guard detachment.
The crossing had been closed for several months. Both spans of the bridge across
the Hazil River had been destroyed. The river's steep banks and low-lying
marshes were mined to discourage infiltrators. Iraqi trenches, tank revetments,
and artillery positions were dug into the heights that overlooked Habur.
   Iraqi Route 6, a two-lane, hard-surfaced road, led from Habur to Zakho and
points east. There was a road junction about midway between Zakho and Dohuk.
The eastern route continued through Dohuk and on to Sirsenk. The southern road
led to Mosul. Comfortably nestled in the foothills, the city of Dohuk was a
provincial  capital with  paved  streets, concrete buildings, and modern
conveniences. This contemporary city was normally the home of about 400,000
people and served as the transportation and commumcations hub of northern Iraq.
Nearby Saddam Dam harnessed the waters of the Tigris River to provide
irrigation and electric power. The region was cold and wet during the winter but
was hot and dry during the summer.
   The debris of wrecked villages dotted the Zakho Corridor. Because of the
battling between the Iraqi governi~ent and the Kurds, many towns and villages
in Kurdistan had been razed and their populations scattered. Many villages and
towns  that appeared on   1970-vintage maps no  longer existed by 1990.6
Unfortunately, these ruins were not the only reminders of Saddam's hostility
toward the Kurds. All Kurdistan was salted with explosive mines and booby
traps. Dangerous unexploded ordnance littered the region.  Every building
displayed battle scars from the recent fighting. Less than 2,000 civilians remained
at Dohuk and less than 300 stayed in Zakho. In April 1991, the nearly deserted
streets of Zakho and Dohuk were patrolled by Iraqi "policemen" wearing Army
uniforms and carrying assault rifles. The occupying Iraqis had thoroughly looted
every home and carried off every item of value.
   Kurdistan seethed with resistance to Saddam's harsh rule, so it was occupied
by two Iraqi Army corps. The I Corps hdd northern Kurdistan and the II Corps
was stationed in eastern Kurdistan. The Iraqi I Corps controlled two infantry
divisions, several independent mechanized brigades, and an elite special assault
brigade. These forces were stationed in or near Dohuk Province. Army posts
ranged in size from Saddam's huge summer palace at Sirsenk to small Beau
Geste-type forts found on the crest of almost every ridge. The main supply route
from fl~ Turkish border to the city of Zakho was overlooked by no less than
four such forts. Zakho was the site of a large Iraqi-run Palestinian military
training camp   whose walls and entrances  were adorned by   large murals
portraying a smiling Saddam and colored designs whose theme was Iraqi-
Palestinian solidarity. The Iraqi 44th Infant,y Division was also headquartered at
Zakho.