I played hookie from work!

I got to take a tour on Sunday of the Victory over America palace and the Ba’ath Party house. I learned some crazy things on this tour. Camp Slayer (which is where I live and work) was originally the Abu Ghurayb Presidential Grounds and was home to the Republican Guard and the Iraqi Military Academy. The camp was a recreational retreat for Iraqi leaders, much like our President’s Camp David. Before the US forces started the attack on the Hussein regime, President Bush gave an address and told them they had 48 hours to surrender. The next day the President gave another address when he told the world that US forces had started the attack early because there was reason to believe the leadership was gathered in one place….the Ba’ath Party house and the Palace (Abu Ghurayb Presidential Grounds). The building was used as a meeting place for the political and military leadership of Iraq. About 200 members were in the building the night of the air strike in March 2003. Dan Rather interviewed Saddam Hussein just prior to the start of the war.

The Victory over America palace is actually the Victory over Iran palace as well. The Iran palace was built first. Saddam went to war with Iran and it ended in a tie….so to speak. He considered it a victory….hence the name Victory over Iran palace. Then, Saddam invaded Kuwait and now we have Operation Desert Storm/Shield. That war ended quite quickly but he was able to successfully mug an entire country. He took all their money and burned the oil fields on his way out. He considered this a victory over America. So, he built the America palace to connect with the Iran palace. Picture a fist and then take the other hand and grab the fist and you have the basic concept behind this whole palace.

There is an artificial lake that surrounds the palace and the Ba’ath house. All the dirt from the lake was made into a hill that had trees growing all around it and had a playground on the top for his children. That hill is where I work now. Where did Saddam get all the water to fill this artificial lake, you might ask? Well, he diverted and entire city’s water source to fill it. And whenever the lake got too low he would divert it again. The residents had no clue what was going on. There is a farmer that lives about 400 yards from all of this and he didn’t even know the lake was there. He thought the Americans did it. He started to cry when he was told the truth.

Ok, now for the crazy stuff….the Ba’ath Party house. This is the place where Dan Rather interviewed Saddam. Saddam was a major germophobe. When Dan was introduced to Saddam, Dan shook his hand firmly and patted him on the back. Saddam was so anxious after that that the interview was postponed for a half hour so he could calm down. There is a pool in this place, but it was never filled with water. It was used to torture and kill people. I didn’t take a picture of this because it would have been disturbing but you can still see where the last execution took place. Saddam had a movie theater put in. This is where all the leaders were when the area was attacked in 2003. That entire side of the building collapsed and for 150 of the 200 members, that is there final resting place. The other 50 bodies were recovered. The movie they were watching…..Pretty Woman. This house also housed the world’s longest and largest chandelier. Half of it is on the floor now.

This is for my sister, Erin...I hope she knows why.

On the second floor of the palace

On the roof of the palace. That dome looking thing in the background is called the Perfume Palace. It used to be a brothel.

I'll add more pictures later. It's getting late. I just wanted to get this out so everyone could read it. With what little time I have to myself these days it took me two days to write this and download the pictures I DID manage to put on here. More later. Love and hugs to everyone!