[AmericanInTokyo]

The Iraqi police, Feddayhin, what not, must have unholstered their pistols and delivered the order over protests. Can you imagine the chill through these naive idiots?

There are several ways to read this.

Coupled with other news reports today about fierce fighting around the Rashid Hotel in Baghdad, and if this is the particular hotel the Japanese "shields" have been sent to, then there is perhaps something rather diabolical in the works, IMHO.

Other news reports have wondered what it is the Iraqis are hiding at the Rashid Hotel, due to the fierce fighting.

The naive reporter for this Japanese article assumed on good faith that the Iraqis moved the Japanese there "for their own safety".

My own assessment is that either Saddam is there in the basement, or weapons of mass destruction are there or perhaps both. They want to have as many Western peace activists and perhaps journalists killed in that particular area of Baghdad as possible, perhaps.

[kinghorse]

Voluntary Human shields are aiding and abetting the enemy. Voluntary Human shields should not be a consideration at all in determining whether or not to attack a strategic target. Period.

[ARCADIA]

I am begining to suspect that Saddam is hiding out at the Rashid Hotel in Baghdad. We should have his body on the street within hours.

[Robert DeLong]

That would turn out to be a safe place to hide, underneath a building they know the coalition of the willing would never target.

[theDentist]

I'm looking into the future an foresee a dam explosion, cause: imperialist-zionist American and Israeli troops.

[Tunehead54]

Maybe they plan to poison their own water supply? Blow up the plant? Just a thought ...

---

[sistergoldenhair]

My own assessment is that either Saddam is there in the basement, or weapons of mass destruction are there or perhaps both.

Or they didn't want any witnesses when they tampered with the water supply.

[EaglesUpForever]

Also possible the regime will attempt to mess with the water supply in a final suicide act... of course the press would blame such a disaster on us.

[Incorrigible]

Somebody set us up the bomb!

[demnomo]

This must be the Hotel where Baghdad Bob will hold his next press conference. The Coalition already has the Hotel Palestine basement in its sites...

[xJones]

They weren't going to get bombed by us at a water-purification plant, so what's in that hotel? And who cares if a pack of idiots gets blown up because they were stupid enough to support Saddam? If they survive, take the little dumplings to some of his torture chambers and give them a guided tour.

[DianaN]

Perhaps Saddam is in a bunker under the Rashid Hotel or maybe he's in one in the Palestine Hotel; what safer place than where all the reporters are? To further add to the choices go to google.com and type in Saddam+hotel and you will find out that the regime rented an entire luxury hotel in Syria.
Perhaps we should make a stop in Syria before we move to take out the arrogant French regime (who very recently went to the Pope to have the Pope handlers send out a world memo that the UN should be the ones to handle the reconstruction in Iraq).
Diana

[Allan]

interesting

[kimoajax]

Perhaps we now know where the last remnants of the outgoing leadership hope to conduct their "peace negotiations" from....the Rashid Hotel. Does this make better sense out of all of the misinformation by the information minister. The real purpose is perhaps to keep as many foreign news people and human shields in the hotel as they can.

Just speculation, but I don't see many strategy options open to the leaders of this outgoing regime that will keep them from shortly being in front of a firing squad.

We will soon see.

[Mister Baredog]

It was not immediately known whether the eight remained at the hotel Saturday night or returned to the plant.

DARWIN ALERT!!!

[firewalk]

bttt

[sharktrager]

I wonder if they were moved so Saddam's boys could tamper with the water treatment system, and maybe add some poisons.

[browardchad]

This is from the AFP, so it may not be accurate, but it is odd:

Fierce clash around hotel

08apr03

FIGHTING was raging in the area of Baghdad's landmark al-Rashid hotel, which has been cordoned off by Iraqi fighters, hours after a US raid on the nearby presidential palace, AFP correspondents said.

Iraqi paramilitary fighters were seen firing assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades from different angles toward the area of the al-Rashid, they said.

It was not clear who was returning fire, as the entire neighbourhood has been cordoned off by Iraqi forces since the lightning raid in the morning by US forces on the Republican Palace compound in central Baghdad.

Two abandoned police cars damaged by shelling were seen on the corner of a road leading to the hotel.

A green civilian car was also damaged from shelling a few metres away, at the entrance of the al-Alawi bus station which has been empty since the morning amid US forces' onslaught.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The Rashid Hotel has long been the residence of foreign dignitaries and journalists in Baghdad.

It became famous after the 1991 Gulf War for a mosaic portrait of the former US president George Bush set into the entrance, forcing all visitors to walk over his face.

Most journalists have left the Rashid Hotel for security reasons amid the week-old US and British offensive to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

[taxcontrol]

Another possible spin:

Shields were moved so the Iraqis could damage the water plant without witnesses

[atomic conspiracy]

These creeps are enemy combatants and war criminals, they should get no consideration at all. To borrow from my tagline, they are roadkill.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

They don't want them to see the water being poisoned.