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| The Front Door to the Last House of Saddam |
On December 13, 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured by US forces near his hometown of Tikrit. He was eventually brought to Baghdad to be held while awaiting his trial. I was able to tour the prison cell where he was held. It was a very interesting trip, because when I was here in 2006 I drove by the place that turned out to be his prison, and was only able to see a very tightly secured building in the middle of a lake on Victory Base. There is a single causeway that drives out to the palace, which was secured by a vehicle barrier, locked gate, and armed guards. The guards are gone now, and the key to the lock on the fence is available to anyone who wants to see the cells.
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| Saddam's bed and toilet |
As you can see, the conditions were sparse. In addition to Saddam, they held several other "high-value" prisoners, including "Chemical Ali" Hassan, who was notorious for his use of chemical weapons to kill thousand of Kurds in northern Iraq.
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"Chemical Ali's" Cell
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It was a very eerie place to visit. I wasn't able to talk to anyone who was here when the detainee operations were conducted, but it was very interesting to see nonetheless.
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The Road to the Prison
Not a whole lot to say about this post. Just some interesting photos that I thought I would share. You can see that the prison itself is rapidly deteriorating. In a few years it will be destroyed and another remnant of Saddam Hussein will pass into history... |
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