My office area was in the basement area. When the US forces hit this palace, they also took out the electricity generating facility just on the other side of the lake. A couple of well placed smart bombs took out one of the access bridges. It was hoped that by doing this, it would cut off Sadam's avenue of escape. By taking out the bridge and the electric conduits attached to it, they also took out all of the electricity to the palace. The problem with that was the whole thing was built on hard rock which required pumps to take sewage from there to the leach fields. Therefore, all the sewage just drained down into holding tanks below the basement level. Eventually this began to fill up and smell real bad. We had generator systems installed to run the palace, but the workings of two major military headquarters required more than the generators could consistently produce. Therefore, we had random brown outs (in more than one way).
There was also lots of battle damage -- windows gone, but covered with plastic; walls with big holes in them; structures which were not sound, which often led to wall and/or ceiling collapses. Crews worked on the place all the time, but progress was slow. With all the damage, sand entering the building was a constant problem for the electronics. Rain was also a problem because mold started to take over -- especially behind and between the fake walls.
But eventually things got repaired and the palace began to take on the appearance of splendor it once knew. Some of the pictures I took show some of the finer parts of the place.
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| This picture was taken in 2005, just before a change of command. I was with a PAO guy when a number of people were taking this shot. |
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| This was the front door to the "Office." This entry way was probably 45-50 feet tall. This was to impress visitors. |
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| You have probably seen this grand entry hall in news coverage. Politicians usually addressed troops here, and all the changes of command are held here. This area is 3 stories tall. This is the area that visitors would see after coming through the grand doors of the main entrance. |
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| Here I am sitting in "Sadam's Chair." Everyone who ever served in this area had their picture taken in this chair. Sometimes when I would be going in the building, there would be some troops from outlying areas wanting to get in to see the place. I would usually escort some of them and make sure they got their picture here. Gave them something to talk about when they got home. I'm not sure what the words are at the top of the chair. I just hope they don't say that the fleas of a thousand camels will invade the armpits of anyone but Sadam who might dare to sit in this chair. |
This was really quite a place. "The Water Palace" as it was also known, along with all of the complex which surrounded it, was quite a place. But this was only one of the many palaces he had.
I guess, as far as office cubicles go, this was OK. It was kinda funny having to put your keyboard in a giant baggie each day if you left the area. We sure went through a lot of monitors and processors though.
As I look back on this place, it sure was beautiful on the surface...like a lot of his empire. But behind all the marble, and gold leaf paint, things were not solid. Lots of things didn't work ... some probably weren't supposed to. They were just for show.
Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. (Winston Churchill)
Hooah
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