My husband served in Iraq during the expeditionary phase of the war — Feb. ‘03-Feb. ‘04, awaiting the start of the combat offensive in Kuwait and fighting up through southern Iraq into Baghdad. He fought as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division, 325th Infantry Regiment out of Fort Bragg, NC.

Last night while watching a Fox News program, a debate raged about the legitimacy of the war in Iraq because of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). He led me to some of his photographs taken in Iraq, in particular Saddam’s main palace in Baghdad, and this is what my soldier had to say, as the debate continued on TV about Saddam’s intent to not pursue a WMD program:

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“I understand how both sides of the WMD argument have postured in support of their respective positions.

“Still, there is one thing I would like people to know about Saddam and WMD.

“Now, I’m no national security advisor, I’m not a WMD inspector, I’m no diplomat, and I didn’t even sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night. I’m just a garden variety Sergeant in the US Army who had the good fortune to be in Baghdad with 3,300 of my closest buddies in the 82nd Airborne during the year 2003.

‘Since I was a Brigade staffer, I had reason every so often to visit the Green Zone where the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was headquartered in Saddam’s central Baghdad palace. My first visit there was in May of 2003. Tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Hum Vs and ground troops from many nations formed a perimeter around this massive, sprawling estate, roughly 20-30 acres square.

“When I got to the main gate I was amazed to see four gigantic busts (image above) (view large image) on the roof of the palace - all of Saddam in traditional Arab war garb. When I got inside I was appalled by the opulence within - marbled columns, floors, gold gilded molding, exquisitely crafted decorations everywhere, ornate doorways, halls, etc… it literally was a king’s palace. Then, in the main or ‘great’ room, I noticed the domed ceiling adorned with a painting of the prophet Mohammed ascending into heaven on a white horse.

The focal point of the room was a gigantic golden throne - I don’t know what else to call it - with a mural behind it depicting intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) flying through the heavens (image right) (view large image here). Each missile had the Iraqi flag painted on it. Now, this mural was at least 20 feet wide x 20 feet tall! It was huge! So, picture this: Saddam sitting on his palace throne with a giant mural behind him depicting ICBMs surging toward his enemies while he reigned over the greater middle east - Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, maybe Saudi Arabia. Scary, no?

“The story I’m telling is real. I was there. I saw it. The ONLY sensible conclusion anyone could come to is that Saddam’s delusions of grandeur most certainly centered around his vision of a nuclear Iraq. I’m sure that he never intended any westerners to see his inner sanctum, his throne, and his glorious mural hailing Iraq’s nuclear, intercontinental reach. But there it was.

“Anyone who still thinks Saddam wasn’t a threat to the USA …all I can tell you as one who sat in Saddam’s ‘throne’ less than a month after he abdicated it is that mural with those creepy missiles told me what a million pundits will never understand. It all seems surreal now that anyone would decry the war for the liberation of Iraq as illegal, unnecessary, imperialist, etc… I wish those who take that position could have the eerie experience I had sitting in the Butcher of Baghdad’s seat of power. Something about Mohammed on the ceiling and the rockets on the wall behind the throne just didn’t seem as innocuous as our anti-war friends would have us believe.”

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Cross-posted at: Amy’s Blog

1. [...] Anyone with just a little common sense understands that Saddam Hussein had WMD’s at one time and wanted WMD’s badly. Take a look at this picture from California Conservative: [...]

   Pingback by Flopping Aces » Blog Archive » A Nuclear Iraq — December 29, 2005 @ 12:46 pm

1. A picture of missiles in Saddam’s palace is proof that Saddam was building nuclear weapons to be used against the United States? I wonder why the weapons inspectors left that out of their report.

   Comment by Pan — December 29, 2005 @ 4:11 pm

2. Pan,

   Saddam had an active WMD program in all three areas, nuclear, chemical and biological. As an example of nuclear, why would he have had 1.77 metric tons of enriched uranium if he didn’t intend to develop and use nuclear weapons? As for chemical, the Polish military purchased 17 chemical warheads off the black market in their area of operations, while American troops discovered 1,500 barrels of nerve gas in a warehouse and were attacked by two roadside bombs that used chemical warheads as part of their destructive power. Biological is much easier to disguise, so we don’t have hard evidence of that, but, if what WAS found doesn’t count as WMD program material, what does?

   Comment by Walter M. Clark — December 29, 2005 @ 4:52 pm

3. Mr. Pan:
   Nowhere did I say it proved anything other than intent, ambition and choice of iconography. Obviously, the common sense test doesn’t work for everyone. Happy New Year,
   JP

   Comment by Johnny Proctor — January 1, 2006 @ 8:18 am