In the western region of Iraq, northern Anbar province joins Syria in a 380 mile-long border. The mighty Euphrates River runs through the area, offering life in an otherwise lifeless location. Small, remote villages pepper the region, one that constitutes a monotonous, vast expanse of desert sand and little else.

But to US military officials, the borderland between Iraq and Syria is priceless. It is an area rife with smuggling routes that have been in place for generations, ample trails that lead holy warriors to cross into Iraq and join the jihad against America. Thousands are believed to have crossed the Iraqi countryside from Syria with relative ease, fighters that infiltrate the country to raise arms against the US-led coalition, bringing with them expertise in bomb making, sharp shooting, and suicide missions.

It is a situation that proves difficult to manage. On the Syrian side, the region is dominated by family factions that control the operations along the Iraqi border. Because the Syrian government, security and police conduct operations independent of one another and under different agendas, there is a bitter power struggle between entities that strive to keep the borders sealed and those that undermine the efforts.