Security at Kurdistan's Erbil airport: A Dutch hound’s tale

[Piling]

July 17, 2013

ERBIL-Hewlêr, Kurdistan region 'Iraq',— Three years ago, when Tonny Boeijen of Four Winds K-9 received a call from a Kurd who wanted to visit his kennels in the southern Netherlands, little did he know that his small company would end up providing the highly trained security dogs for Erbil International Airport, in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Behind the wagging tails that go about their business with precision efficiency at Erbil airport every day, is a highly professional Dutch family business with two decades of experience – providing specially trained dogs that experts agree are better at sniffing out drugs and explosives than any gadget in existence.

“Up till now no gadget has proved to be better than the dog’s nose,” boasts Linda Boeijen, a director at Four Winds K9 who runs the business with her father. “There are of course other methods,” she says, “but this is by far the gentlest and most effective.”

The facts support what she says about canine efficiency: Even though the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan Region is part of a volatile Iraq -- where bombs explode daily – there has not been a single reported incident with explosives at Erbil airport, since it opened in 2010.

Captain Hemin Muhammad, the Kurdish officer in charge of the airport’s canine unit, confirms that the dogs get the job done. “The results have been very good,” he explains, but hesitates to talk about any of the catches the dogs have made, citing “security reasons.”

All 34 dogs in the unit were brought in from the Netherlands, where they were trained with their handlers. That is why the dogs respond only to commands in Dutch or English; Linda explains that, “Body language and tone of voice” are also key.

“Every handler has one dog, together they make up a team. When you change dog and handler, you have to train them again,” she says.

The dogs check every car that airport security guards pick out. The trainer leads his canine partner around the vehicle, and if the dog smells something suspicious, it is trained to stop and sit, pointing at the spot to look for hidden explosives or drugs.

One of the handlers demonstrates that, for the dogs, it is all about the reward they receive for successful finds: A hollow black pipe with which they love to play.

During training, a little bit of the substance that the dogs are taught to find is placed inside the pipe, a handler explains. The dog becomes so keen on the pipe and the smell, that he will want to recognize the smell to get his reward – the toy pipe.

The handler demonstrates this by leading Nero, a Belgian Shepherd Malinois, around a vehicle where he has hidden some explosives. The dog finds it, sits and gets his reward.

“He’s not allowed to bark,” explains the trainer, demonstrating the dogs’ great discipline.

Boeijen’s company provides dogs and training around the world, from the United States to the United Arab Emirates, and as far out as Nigeria.

He agrees that the dogs would be an excellent replacement for the Iraqi capital Baghdad, where the first line of defense at checkpoints and sensitive spots is a gadget that has been declared a fraud, but which the Iraqis continue to stand by and use.

The hand-held wands, sold to the Iraqi government for nearly $100 million by a British firm whose owner has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for fraud, do not work,www.ekurd.net the United States military and technical experts have proven.

On the contrary, the dogs have been proven to work.

“All our dogs are fully certified,” Boeijen says, shouting above the din of dogs barking in their separate living quarters, each attached with a small outdoor area. “They yearly have to pass all the tests of an independent organization working under the flag of Homeland Security in the United States,” he adds.

In the Kurdistan Region, where the majority of the population is Muslim, the canine protectors are still publicly accepted, even though according to Islam dogs are impure and should not be touched by Muslims.

Like elsewhere in the Islamic world, hounds in Iraqi Kurdistan are usually only used as security dogs or by shepherds -- although Kurds are slowly catching on to a growing trend of also keeping them as pets.

“Some people are afraid,” Captain Hemin readily admits. “But they do recognize that they are safer because of these dogs.”

By Judit Neurink - Rudaw

[Feyli_kord]

Cool, instead of hiring kurdish security companies, they hire dutch ones. Smart kurds. They won't stop until we turn into dubai/saudi arabia and the foreigners run our country for us.

[Piling]

Captain Hemin Muhammad, the Kurdish officer in charge of the airport’s canine unit

Dogs are Dutch, security teams are Kurdish men.

Do you expect that Kurdish men's noses sniff better drugs and explosives than dogs ?

You can also launch a nationalist campaign : works for Kurdish dogs alone ! No way to Foreign capitalist Dutch Belgian hounds…

[Feyli_kord]

Captain Hemin Muhammad, the Kurdish officer in charge of the airport’s canine unit

Dogs are Dutch, security teams are Kurdish men.

Do you expect that Kurdish men's noses sniff better drugs and explosives than dogs ?

You can also launch a nationalist campaign : works for Kurdish dogs alone ! No way to Foreign capitalist Dutch Belgian hounds…

You don't need to bring dutch/belgian dogs to solve problems like that, but that is not the point, it's a point that this is a part of a bigger problem in the middle-east. Also shut up, start talking such garbage when your own country removes their massive tariffs and protectionist laws. Until then, don't act like hypocrite. You can begin talking such garbage when african countries install their own africa-friendly puppets in the french government. Why should kurds and indeed other middle-easterners have to contract western companies and services? This is a question that is vital in the middle-east. One that would never cross your mind.

When was the last time the french had pressure on them, to hire african companies over french ones? The reality is that it's reverse. We both know what would happen if talabani and barzani said no to western companies, certainly not what would happen to hollande if he stopped non-EU imports or chinese buyouts and investments, even if he nationalized "foreign" property, france would suffer nothing, and he'd be considered a hero. Mocking and belitteling me is just hypocritical, it shows you have zero respect for the idea of middle-eastern sovereignity. Like the overwhelming majority of white westerners.

[Piling]

You talked as if a Dutch dog had pissed on your shoes instead on your sacred Middle-Eastern sovereignty

[Feyli_kord]

You talked as if a Dutch dog had pissed on your shoes instead on your sacred Middle-Eastern sovereignty

What's so funny about my post? What do you find funny about this? You're acting like a childishly like mentally deficient person, not an adult. You haven't responded with a single cogent post to anything i've said. All you do is make shitty derisive jokes in english with poor grammar and try to make fun of me like a 10 year old on youtube who just discovered humour. And this is comes from a "supposed" french kurd expert and adult woman in her 40s, not a 11 year old schoolyard kid. If you have any criticsm, lay it out, don't act like a immature obnoxious kid. An irrelevant joke isn't an counter-argument.

[Anthea]

The focus of the article is security - to improve security at airports Kurdish security officers are using Belgian Malinois - probably one of the most popular breed of working dogs worldwide - used by police and military in many countries

Surely nobody should complain that Kurdistan has the best possible security

[Rando]

Western companies and countries are bleeding Africa (and Middle east) dry. The african countries are presurred to make horrific deals with westeren companies. Example is zambia.
Data from 2006 on their copper proved that copper worth 3 billion was exported from Zambia,but the Zambian government got only 50 million of that. Not only that,but the Zambian government had to pay the companies 150 million because of energy. Zambia loses out on its own resources. These numbers are confirmed by the norwegian embassy in Zambia.
The sum taken from Africa is 8-10 times larger than the "aid" sent to them.
But i guess this is how capitalism works? Taking from the poor and giving to the rich

[Feyli_kord]

Western companies and countries are bleeding Africa dry. The african countries are presurred to make horrific deals with westeren companies. Example is zambia.
Data from 2006 on their copper proved that copper worth 3 billion was exported from Zambia,but the Zambian government got only 50 million of that. Not only that,but the Zambian government had to pay the companies 150 million because of energy. Zambia loses out on its own resources. These numbers are confirmed by the norwegian embassy in Zambia.
The sum taken from Africa is 8-10 times larger than the "aid" sent to them.
But i guess this is how capitalism works? Taking from the poor and giving to the rich

[Piling] Ahahaha stupid kurd, you're doing the same ,"Insert shitty joke" "add plenty of smilies" [Piling]

What do people think kurds and iraqi government has to do? No, F*** it , lets go piling style "Ahahaha , I LAUGH AT EVERYTHING THOSE STUPID THIRD WORLDERS THINK "

Probably thinks those zambians deserve it because they're stupid african blacks, and it's justified, because well, everyone does it(main argument to make no one responsible for anything).

[Anthea]

I must have fallen down the rabbit hole - Rando is the white rabbit

[Feyli_kord]

I must have fallen down the rabbit hole - Rando is the white rabbit

Oh shit, someone smelled the coffee. Probably not though.

[Anthea]

I must have fallen down the rabbit hole - Rando is the white rabbit

What are you on about? What nonsense is this?

Looking at Rando and you at least my nonsense is famous literary nonsense

[Feyli_kord]

I must have fallen down the rabbit hole - Rando is the white rabbit

What are you on about? What nonsense is this?

Looking at Rando and you at least my nonsense is famous literary nonsense

Actually, It's well known that western countries have majority contract in kurdistan and iraq for oilfields(In this case, they control the refineries). it's also very well known that western countries and companies are involved in corruption and making money of african states. Those are facts. Can't say that much for alot of the(excuse my language) nonsense that comes from you.

[Rando]

Do you claim what i am stating is wrong? check it up. Go contact the norwegian embassy in Zambia or search that up. Most western countries don`t give a shit about 3rd world people as long as they (the first world) can make profit from it.
May I ask u something: Why do you think the Libya war started? To help the people there?

[Feyli_kord]

Do you claim what i am stating is wrong? check it up. Go contact the norwegian embassy in Zambia or search that up. Most western countries don`t give a shit about 3rd world people as long as they (the first world) can make profit from it.
May I ask u something: Why do you think the Libya war started? To help the people there?

Nah, it's all bullshit, we're all bullshitters. Nothing bad happening in the third world. All is as it should be.