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TIKRIT, Iraq -- The Super Bowl parties for U.S. troops in Iraq will start hours before dawn, and there won't be any beer. But at least in Tikrit, soldiers have a lavish venue: They'll be watching a cinema-sized screen in a former palace of Saddam Hussein. At bases across Iraq, the 130,000 American troops will be able to catch the game between the Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots live (starting at 2:25 a.m. Monday, Iraqi time) in mess halls and recreation centers. If waking up in the middle of the chilly Iraqi night is too daunting, many bases...

TIKRIT, Iraq -- The Super Bowl parties for U.S. troops in Iraq will start hours before dawn, and there won't be any beer. But at least in Tikrit, soldiers have a lavish venue: They'll be watching a cinema-sized screen in a former palace of Saddam Hussein. At bases across the country, the 130,000 American troops will be able to catch the game between the Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots live (starting at 2:25 a.m. Monday, Iraqi time) in mess halls and recreation centers. If waking up in the middle of the chilly Iraqi night is too daunting, many...

UJA, Iraq - U.S. authorities on Wednesday prepared to demolish Saddam Hussein's five palatial homes in the village where he was born, having stripped them of expensive marbles, tiles and valuable furniture. The 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, based in Tikrit, received permission from coalition authorities Tuesday to go ahead with the demolition in Uja village, said the commander, Lt. Col. Steve Russell. For the past couple of months, contractors hired by the U.S. forces have been removing valuable materials from the homes including hand-cut Italian bricks and polished marble tiles, Russell told reporters taken on a tour of the...

When he was forced to fashion statues of Saddam Hussein on horseback, the Iraqi sculptor, Kalat, had no idea that someday he would melt them down to create a memorial for American Soldiers. The two original statues -- which adorned a gate at the palace complex where 4th Infantry Division’s headquarters group is located -- were removed with explosives in early July, said 1st Sgt. Mark Anderson, Headquarters and Headquarters Company. The statues were cut into pieces by the 555th Engineer Group and shipped to Kalat who reshaped the chunks of bronze into a likeness of an American Soldier. A...

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Behind tall concrete barriers and rolls of razor wire, the United States Army has converted a former Iraqi Republican Guard officers' club here in the heart of Baghdad into a little American oasis for war-weary soldiers. The sprawling complex has been stripped of portraits of Saddam Hussein and Baath Party paraphernalia. It now serves as the First Armored Division's version of a five-star hotel for as many as 100 soldiers at a time who are lucky enough to get a three-day, two-night pass. More than 1,800 troops have cycled through since the hotel opened in mid-October.Called Freedom...

January 11, 2004 G.I.'s Enjoy Plush Respite of Iraqi Army By ERIC SCHMITT AGHDAD, Iraq — Behind tall concrete barriers and rolls of razor wire, the United States Army has converted a former officers' club of the Iraqi Republican Guard into a little oasis for weary G.I.'s. The sprawling complex here in the heart of Baghdad has been stripped of its portraits of Saddam Hussein and its Baath Party trappings. It now serves as the First Armored Division's version of a five-star hotel for as many as 100 soldiers at a time who are lucky enough to get a three-day,...

Malacañang will help deposed President Joseph Estrada secure a United States visa to allow him to undergo knee surgery in California, a ranking Palace official said yesterday. Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Secretary Michael Defensor told The STAR he personally called up Estrada to assure him of assistance in securing a US visa. "I told him, ‘Mr. President, if you have any visa problems with the US Embassy (in Manila), please let us know and we will give you a line to them’," Defensor said. Malacañang made the offer after the Sandiganbayan on Tuesday allowed the former leader...

Saddam’s palace soon to be home to Coalition forces By Sgt. 1st Class Marcia Triggs Sgt. 1st Class K.C. Delagarza, a Reserve engineer from New York, stands guard at the Alfaw palace, which is soon to become headquarters for Coalition Joint Task Force-7. Sgt. 1st Class Marcia Triggs • Printer-friendly version • E-mail this article • E-mail Alerts BAGHDAD, Iraq (Army News Service, Dec. 21, 2003) – While Iraq’s former leader was hiding in holes, Sgt. Maj. Mikel Dawson was busy entertaining guests in one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces and getting it ready to house Coalition Joint Task Force-7. The...

TIKRIT, Iraq - The brass section strikes up a fiery tune, the congas set the beat and Sergeant Cesar Castro belts out a fast-paced salsa. It's Latino night in Saddam's palace, proudly brought to you by the U.S. forces occupying Iraq. Behind the band, a huge mural displays combat troops in action, a US flag and the words "God Bless Taskforce Ironhorse." Standard issue M-16 assault rifles are placed against the wall, and dress code is DCU -- desert camouflage uniforms. The musicians are all from the U.S. army's 4th Infantry Division, deployed since April in Tikrit, a hotspot of...

Did any of you catch it? I didn't see it, but I heard that Greg Palkot was messing around in Saddam's "palace." That's great. They can make it a tourist destination, with all the money going towards the Iraqi people. "Climb in the Saddam pit. The experience of a lifetime." Of course, that stinky, filthy place must be crawling with ten different types of vermin.

The Associated Press 12/12/2003, 4:53 a.m. ET BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — U.S. bombs never hit Saddam Hussein's grandiose presidential palace in Baghdad, making its ample meeting rooms and vast conference tables an ideal headquarters for U.S.-led occupation authorities after the war. Now the building — the physical seat and biggest symbol of Saddam's 23-year dictatorship — is the likely site for the next U.S. Embassy in Iraq, U.S. officials in Washington and Iraq said this week. A State Department official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the palace is among several locations under consideration for the embassy, where...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. bombs never hit Saddam Hussein's grandiose presidential palace in Baghdad, making its ample meeting rooms and vast conference tables an ideal headquarters for U.S.-led occupation authorities after the war. Now the building — the physical seat and biggest symbol of Saddam's 23-year dictatorship — is the likely site for the next U.S. Embassy in Iraq, U.S. officials in Washington and Iraq said this week. A State Department official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the palace is among several locations under consideration for the embassy, where the U.S. government's official representative will be based...

<p>LONDON - President Bush's state visit to Britain was a chance to peek behind the scenes at Buckingham Palace, where even First Lady Laura Bush 'fessed up to feeling "intimidated."</p> <p>Reporters were invited in to view the gilded table set for the queen's state dinner after walking through a marble hall full of priceless paintings - one of George III who ruled during the American Revolution.</p>

Palace security review announced Home Secretary David Blunkett has announced a review of Buckingham Palace security following a lapse ahead of President Bush's visit. An undercover reporter worked for two months as a footman at the Palace after applying using a false reference. Mr Blunkett told the House of Commons that the Security Commission would conduct a thorough review. He said employment checks on the man were "insufficient" but appropriate criminal checks were carried out. Meanwhile Mr Bush carried on with his engagements, making a keynote speech at Banqueting House in London. In it, he defended the war on...

grandmother and veteran peace campaigner climbed 20ft high gates at Buckingham Palace today to protest at US president George Bush's state visit. Lindis Percy, 61, scaled the metal gates at the front entrance of the palace, where the US president will be staying. Mrs Percy, a co-ordinator of the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases (CAAB) UK, spent two-and-a-quarter hours clinging to the gates before coming down voluntarily. She was greeted by waiting police who promptly arrested her on suspicion of causing criminal damage and breach of the peace before taking her to Charing Cross police station. The lone...

The Queen rejected a request from President George W. Bush's security advisers to bolster Buckingham Palace's structural defences against a terrorist attack during his state visit to Britain this week. Senior courtiers say that the Queen was not willing to countenance "bomb and airborne assault proofing" that would have involved substantial building work at her London home. The Americans fear that al-Qaeda terrorists are planning an attack when the President and his wife, Laura, stay for three nights in the ground-floor Belgian Suite at the Palace. One courtier said: "They [the Americans] wanted blast and bullet-proofed windows and curtains and...

With President Bush about to arrive in Britain, members of his large entourage have been given briefings to guide them through the diplomatic minefield of British politics and the Court of St James's. This newspaper has been leaked the following document.From: State Dept, Washington DCDistribution: White House security detailSubject: British visitWe are anticipating trouble in London, and not just from civilian bystanders. Certain elements in the circles of power near Prime Minister Blair and Monarch Elizabeth II are considered high-security risks. (NB That's Elizabeth the Second, not Eleventh.) On the basis of information received from British security and local assets,...

Staff Sgt. Russell Garvin has a home fit for a king, or at least a deposed dictator. Instead of living like a king, however, Garvin, a member of the 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry of the Indiana National Guard, is responsible for ensuring that Saddam Hussein’s former Al Faw Palace on Camp Victory stays in good repair and keeps its presidential charm. “People use the facility for special events, the conference room and for the pool,” he said of the palace’s new role as the unofficial Camp Victory convention center. Military units use most of the marble-clad facility, which is just...

Blasts rock coalition headquarters BAGHDAD: Two explosions rocked central Baghdad late last night near the headquarters of the US-led Coalitional Provisional Authority (CPA), said CPA spokesman Charles Heatly. The CPA headquarters is located in toppled president Saddam Hussein's former Republican Palace. Witnesses on the other side of the Tigris river said they heard two large booms in the palace area and saw tanks on the move. Earlier, unidentified gunmen assassinated the director of a hospital in the southern city of Basra. Colleagues said Haider Al Baaj, chief doctor at Basra's teaching hospital, was shot dead with a single bullet to...

John Hanley - formerly Editor of heritage.org - is serving with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad on a leave of absence from The Heritage Foundation.  His first assignment is in the CPA’s Finance Ministry preparing for the upcoming International Donors Conference in Madrid, Spain, to be held October 23 – 24. Heritage’s John Hanley at the entrance of the CPA’s Finance Ministry My first thought as the wheels of a London-bound flight left Dulles was that it would be a long time before I would see Washington again. This new job meant months away from a city that I...