The transaction is perfectly blatant. A Jordanian customs official is bribed, illegal cargo is substituted for food and medicine, a false manifest is prepared, and the truck heads for the Iraqi border. At the Jordanian customs post, the truck, sealed with a lock and a bit of wire, is not examined, the customs inspector stamps the false manifest, and the driver heads for Baghdad. Boasts police major Ahmed Omari as he waves through a van of vegetable oil: "Not a single truck has carried smuggled goods into Iraq." But thanks to Iraqi payoffs lavished on Jordanian government officials, thousands of tons...
Just Keep On Trucking
Jordan has turned a blind eye to illicit trade that helps Iraq's dictator survive, but U.S. pressure is beginning to work
Subscriber content preview.
or
Log-In
To continue reading:
or
Log-In