Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Bombs Can't Bust Saddam Bunker, Builder Says
Yahoo News ^ | Fri Mar 28,10:49 AM ET | By David Crossland

Posted on 03/29/2003 12:32:53 PM PST by vannrox


A radar-avoiding U.S. B-2 bomber dropped two earth-shattering 4,600-pound 'bunker-buster' bombs on Friday on a major link in Iraq's communications network in downtown Baghdad, defense officials said. It was believed to be the first use of the big bombs on Baghdad. Allied jets have pounded targets in the Iraqi capital with hundreds of bombs and missiles in the week-old war to depose President Saddam Hussein. (Reuters Graphic)

Bombs Can't Bust Saddam Bunker, Builder Says
Fri Mar 28,10:49 AM ET
By David Crossland

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German architect of one of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s main bunkers in Baghdad said on Friday the Iraqi leader can survive anything short of a direct hit with a nuclear bomb if he stays within its four-feet-thick walls.

"It could withstand the shock wave of a nuclear bomb the size of the Hiroshima one detonating 250 meters away," said Karl Esser, a security consultant who designed the bunker underneath Saddam's main presidential palace in Baghdad.

U.S.-led troops will also find it hard to fight their way in through its three-ton Swiss-made doors, Esser told Reuters in an interview.

A retired Yugoslav army officer who helped build other bunkers for Saddam also told Reuters this week that the shelters were impenetrable and could survive an atomic bomb.

CNN reported on Friday that U.S. B-52 bombers dropped a two ton "bunker busting" bomb on the capital for the first time in the campaign.

The palace bunker can accommodate 50 people and has two escape tunnels, one leading 200 meters to the Tigris river.

It was built in 1982 and 1983 by German firm Boswau & Knauer, which merged into what is now the Walter-Bau AG building group.

At the time Esser was a consultant for a German government-sponsored civil protection body and had his own company, Schutzraumtechnik Esser GmbH, which supplied equipment for Saddam's bunker.

Whether Saddam is using the bunker or is even still alive is unclear, with London and Washington saying they were not convinced that television broadcasts he has made since the war started were live.

The U.S. and Britain launched the war on Iraq (news - web sites) last week with a bombing attack on Baghdad intended to target Saddam, and have pounded the city for nine days.

But Esser said "bunker busting" bombs like the one dropped on Friday would fail to penetrate the bunker because they first have to get though the palace built directly above it.

"The presidential palace above gives natural protection so the bunker can only be cracked by ground troops or a tactical nuclear bomb," said Esser.

The bunker ceiling itself, made of steel-reinforced concrete and up to two meters (yards) thick, was designed to withstand the direct impact of a 230 kg bomb, said Esser.

"It's not a combat bunker, it's an air raid shelter, otherwise it would have had to be built with gun slits and a variety of other features," said Esser.

"Ground troops could get in by taking out the doors with bazookas and explosives."

Construction took place at a time when western companies were legally supplying Saddam with arms and equipment during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

Esser said he assumes the plans of the bunker had been passed on to Germany's foreign intelligence service.

Esser remembers giving Saddam a personal tour of the bunker's features, which include a water tank, electricity generator, air filter, 30 square meter command center and so-called electromagnetic pulse protection system -- to shield electrical circuits from the impact of an explosion.

"He was satisfied," said Esser. "He was totally friendly. He was wearing civilian clothes and looked like an ordinary civil servant but you could tell he was important because everyone immediately went quiet when he started talking."

Esser said he had no qualms about having helped to protect a dictator likened to Hitler.

"It's not just one person getting protection, it's several people, it's the palace staff as well. I just see it as an achievement of bunker technology," said Esser.



TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Germany; Government; News/Current Events; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: bomb; bunker; bunkerbusters; buster; iran; iraq; nuclear; terror; tunnel; underground; wtc
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 121-122 next last
To: Voltage
Just the ticket...Geraldo the great just so happens to be "in country" and would relish this story.
21 posted on 03/29/2003 12:49:17 PM PST by brooklin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: flashbunny
Send in an insurance salesman.
22 posted on 03/29/2003 12:51:12 PM PST by Charles Henrickson
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

Comment #23 Removed by Moderator

To: Hiwayman
and we know where all the exits are? exits into this structure are in basements of lots of buildings. think about a complex built under manhattan, with exits into basements of lots of buildings, very hard to seal off from the air.
24 posted on 03/29/2003 12:52:38 PM PST by oceanview
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: vannrox
Since we will own the surface, we can drill down 90 meters and fill the hole with high explosives. After the dust clears, pump the water in from the river.

Would be fun to watch.

5.56mm

25 posted on 03/29/2003 12:53:01 PM PST by M Kehoe
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: brooklin
Plug the exits. Then gas him. There have to be ventilation shafts?
26 posted on 03/29/2003 12:53:45 PM PST by americanbychoice
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: vannrox

27 posted on 03/29/2003 12:55:51 PM PST by Radix (Songs that made the HIT parade......)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: americanbychoice
Drop a Moab in a bunker buster's hole and set the fuse to either go on impact or on a slight delay, instead of bursting in air.
28 posted on 03/29/2003 12:56:37 PM PST by razorbak
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: razorbak
these bunkers are almost like NORAD, they have survivability to close-by nuclear strikes.
29 posted on 03/29/2003 12:58:01 PM PST by oceanview
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: M Kehoe
I like the idea, but Zyklon gas should be used. Same gas the Germans used on the poor jews in the concentration camps.
30 posted on 03/29/2003 12:59:01 PM PST by Hiwayman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: vannrox
up to two meters (yards) thick

Are there people who can read a newspaper and know the size of a yard yet not the size of a meter?

31 posted on 03/29/2003 12:59:56 PM PST by On the Road to Serfdom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: oceanview
Think about the fact that we've been slamming bunker busters into something for days. I'd say we haven't targeted the bunker but we have targeted the exits. Taking out the palace eliminated one exit and I'm sure we hit the other exits as well.
32 posted on 03/29/2003 1:01:46 PM PST by McGavin999
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: Voltage
"Isn't this just an expensive grave? Cement over the entries perhaps 6 months later digging him out would make a great show on the Discovery Channel."

Geraldo could make it another special!!
33 posted on 03/29/2003 1:05:20 PM PST by Rockiesrider
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: vannrox
I hope we have imposed upon this German guy for the location and plans for this bunker.
34 posted on 03/29/2003 1:07:12 PM PST by Mike Darancette (Ding, Dong Soddom is DEAD)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: oceanview
There is quite a difference between a 230kg GP bomb, and a "bunker buster" of 4000+ lbs. The BB focuses it's explosive force downwards, and they're able to do repeated hits on the same spot.

Of course, I'm not endowed with any special knowledge, but the theory and information is out there and widely disseminated.
35 posted on 03/29/2003 1:09:49 PM PST by cryptical
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Young Rhino
"I wonder if Hussein will marry Chirac"

LOL! I needed a good laugh today. Thanks.

36 posted on 03/29/2003 1:14:46 PM PST by Churchillspirit
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: vannrox
These bunkers also have escape tunnels and are interconnected according to various reports.
37 posted on 03/29/2003 1:26:47 PM PST by whadizit
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Churchillspirit
Is it the bunker busters that suck all air out of the bunker? What's cool is that the vacuum it creates sucks the air out of your body as well....ooooo..kinda messy.

I suppose this bunker would have to be breached to get this affect, but its a nice thought.

38 posted on 03/29/2003 1:28:59 PM PST by chiller (could be wrong, but doubt it)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: Voltage
Get Geraldo to do another secret room opening!
39 posted on 03/29/2003 1:29:36 PM PST by jimkress
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Young Rhino
Not unless they live in Vermont.
40 posted on 03/29/2003 1:32:03 PM PST by jimkress
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 121-122 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson