Reply #2: To be clear, the "war" in the headline is the war in Iraq--not a proposed war in Iran.

[MADem]

And the base looks like it's functioning as a major border-crossing checkpoint.

The U.S. accuses Iran of fighting a proxy war in Iraq, as it smuggles sophisticated roadside bombs and long range rockets into the region that kill Iraqis and American troops.

"While claiming to support Iraq in its transition, Iran has actively undermined it by providing lethal capabilities to the enemies of the Iraqi state," Ambassador Ryan Crocker said during his testimony on the state of the war to Congress Sept. 10.


Struggle for Influence in Iraq

The Shocker base will be home to about 200 soldiers, as well as to agents from the U.S. Border Patrol, at a location where about 300 trucks now cross the border each day.


At the moment, the United States can only fully search three or four of them each day, but with more manpower and technology, they will know better where to look for weapons transactions.


"As we get more coalition capability down here, we'll be able to develop some of that capability," explained Mueller. "We can get some of the cell phone conversations between the buyer and the seller, times, types of trucks. We're getting better at that all the time."