Posted on 04/12/2003 3:27:31 PM PDT by Mister Magoo
SADDAM'S 'LOVE SHACK'
US troops have discovered what they described as Saddam Hussein's "love shack" in Baghdad.
Reports said the secret hideaway resembled "a playboy's fantasy straight from the 1960s".
Troops said it reminded them of the Austin Powers spy spoofs.
They yelled Powers' catchphrases "yeah, baaabeee" and "shagadelic" as they went from room to room.
Associated Press reporters with US forces said the split-level, one bedroom house in central Baghdad had a mirrored bedroom and lamps shaped like women.
On the walls were air-brushed paintings of a topless blonde woman and another of a moustached hero battling a crocodile.
Whirlpool
Throughout the house were photos of Saddam and one of his known mistresses smiling at each other.
Military officials suspect they found one of the paranoid Iraqi leader's many safe houses.
"This must have been Saddam's love shack," said Sergeant Spencer Willardson as he searched the house.
The house is in a Ba'ath Party enclave in an upmarket neighborhood in central Baghdad, where generals and senior party officials lived.
It was littered with beanbag chairs and had a bar stocked with 20-year old Italian red wines and expensive cognacs, brandies and Scotch whiskeys.
The kitchen contained fine china of the Kuwaiti royal family, complete with the family seal and gold and maroon trim.
Upstairs was a television room with bright blue, pink and yellow throw pillows. The bathroom included a whirlpool bath.
Mistress
In the bedroom, the kingsize bed was fitted into an alcove, with mirrors on two sides and a fantasy painting on the third.
The closets and drawers were empty except for a man's night shirt, two pairs of boxer shorts, two T-shirts and a bath robe - each item individually wrapped in plastic.
One of the air-brushed paintings depicted a topless blonde woman, with a green demon behind her, pointing a finger at a mythical hero.
From the tip of her finger came a giant serpent, which had wrapped itself around the warrior.
Another showed a buxom woman chained to a barren desert mountain ledge, with a huge dragon diving down to kill her with sharpened talons.
The mistress in the photos was Parisoula Lampsos, who has publicly told of her life as his lover.
She escaped to Lebanon in 2002 and was interviewed on US television about her relationship with Saddam.
Weapons
Her current location is unknown and she was last believed to be in hiding.
In the house next door, which had its windows sealed by iron sheets, troops found thousands of weapons.
More than 6,000 Berretta pistols, 650 Sig Sauer pistols, 248 Colt Revolvers, 160 Belgian 7.65 mm pistols, 12 cases of Sterling submachine guns and four cases of anti-tank missiles all still in the unopened original boxes, were discovered.
There were also tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition mortars and cases of old handguns and heavy machine guns.
Last Updated: 22:11 UK, Saturday April 12, 2003
 |
| Sat Apr 12, 1:41 PM ET |
|
U.S. Army Captains Steve Barry, right, and Chris Carter, left, relax in a house in an upscale neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites) Saturday, April 12, 2003. Photos of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) and Parisoula Lampsos, a woman who has publicly claimed to be his mistress were displayed inside the house. Lampsos escaped to Lebanon in 2002. (AP Photo/John Moore) |
|
|
 |
|---|
| Our troops give so much of themselves, and we all benefit from their efforts. The next time you look at your bank balance, why not find some way to take some money and put it towards supporting the members of our armed services in some way? Maybe find a family who has someone serving, and buy them dinner, or some groceries, or a gift for their children? Maybe find a way to contribute to a fund for the memory of any of those who have fallen? Our armed forces deserve our support in tangible ways.
|
YAAAHHH BABEEEE!
Parasoula Lampsos
Those are some eyes that've seen a thing or two or three.
CHRIS TOMLINSON, Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq - The doors of the town house opened to reveal a playboy's fantasy straight from the 1960s: mirrored bedroom, lamps shaped like women, air-brushed paintings of a topless blonde woman and a mustached hero battling a crocodile.
On the wall and in the bedroom were photos of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) and one of his mistresses. Military officials suspect they found one of the paranoid Iraqi leader's many safe houses.
"This must have been Saddam's love shack," said Sgt. Spencer Willardson of Logan, Utah.
The split-level, one-bedroom town house is in a Baath Party enclave in an upscale neighborhood in central Baghdad where generals and senior party officials lived.
As U.S. officials set up command posts there, troops were going home by home, searching for looters and weapons.
Next door, where iron sheets were welded over all the windows, they found more than 6,000 Berretta pistols, 650 Sig Sauer pistols, 248 Colt Revolvers, 160 Belgian 7.65 mm pistols, 12 cases of Sterling submachine guns and four cases of anti-tank missiles all still in the unopened original boxes. There were also tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition mortars and cases of old handguns and heavy machine guns.
Not far off was another presidential palace, this one with a Yugoslav-built, chemical and biological weapons-proof bunker underneath it. A U.S. Army team inspected it and it appeared to be strictly defensive in nature.
But this home was different: beanbag chairs, a garden of plastic plants, a sunken kitchen and a room for a servant, all 1960s-style.
The sunken wet bar was stocked with 20-year old Italian red wines and expensive cognacs, brandies and Scotch whiskeys, the same brands found in several presidential palaces.
The glassware, too, was the same pattern that was found in at least three palaces also visited by U.S. troops since the regime collapsed. The pattern features the Iraqi government seal and a gold pattern on that rim.
But when it came time to eat dinner, Saddam was served his food on the official fine china of the Kuwaiti royal family, complete with the family seal and gold and maroon trim.
Capt. Chris Carter, commander of A Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, said the home appears to be one of Saddam's safe houses. The photos in the living room, bedroom and on the wall are of Saddam and Parisoula Lampsos, who publicly claimed to be his mistress. She escaped to Lebanon in 2002.
Lampsos was interviewed extensively about her relationship with Saddam on U.S. television. Her current location is unknown and she was last believed to be in hiding.
The photos show Saddam and Lampsos smiling at each other and standing beside one another — in one Saddam wears a uniform and in another a suit.
On one wall was a 16-by-20 inch plaque of the Iraqi eagle and flag seal.
Upstairs was a television room with bright blue, pink and yellow throw pillows.
The bathroom included a whirlpool bath. The kingsize bed was fitted into an alcove with mirrors on two sides and a fantasy painting on the third.
The closets and drawers were empty except for a man's night shirt, two pairs of boxer shorts, two T-shirts and a bath robe — each item individually wrapped in plastic, just as similar items had been in the palaces.
One of the air-brushed paintings depicted a topless blonde woman, with a green demon behind her, pointing a finger at a mythic hero. From the tip of her finger came a giant serpent, which had wrapped itself around the warrior.
Another showed a buxom woman chained to a barren desert mountain ledge, with a huge dragon diving down to kill her with sharpened talons.
The home's 1960s look — parodied in the series of "Austin Powers" spy spoofs — inspired a round of imitations from soldiers slogging door to door.
"Yeah, baaabeee," said Carter, doing his best imitation of actor Mike Meyers' character.
"Shagadelic," another soldier shouted.
Indeed, the carpet was navy blue shag.
Good grief! How embarrassing. More than 6,000 Berretta pistols, 650 Sig Sauer pistols, 248 Colt Revolvers, 160 Belgian 7.65 mm pistols, 12 cases of Sterling submachine guns and four cases of anti-tank missiles all still in the unopened original boxes, were discovered.
Reminds of of Lt. Rosewood in Beverly Hills Copy (played by Judge Reinhold) who had a LOT of weapons.
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.