Troops in search for prisoners 'buried alive in concrete grave'

BRITISH troops were racing against time last night to free prisoners believed to have been buried alive by Saddam Hussein’s fleeing henchmen.

Army engineers were called in after British officers heard scratching beneath a wrecked statue of Saddam in al-Faw. Local people said they had seen two coachloads of prisoners being sealed into a secret chamber under the site.

Hundreds of Iraqis kept a vigil yesterday as engineers with pneumatic drills and a bulldozer worked to break through a yard of concrete believed to have been poured into a stairwell leading to the dungeon.

Several British troops said they had heard a response after they stopped digging, called for quiet and knocked on the ground.

The sound of a series of scratching noises has been distinct at least twice since work started on Monday afternoon.

Lieutenant-Colonel Simon Wolsey, of 29 Commando Royal Artillery, which called in the digging teams, said: “We stopped work and knocked on the floor after ordering complete silence and I definitely heard something.

“It sounded like someone scratching at the concrete from below. A medic who was with us used his stethoscope and confirmed he heard the noise. Locals are adamant that they saw coachloads of prisoners, possibly Kuwaitis from the last war, being brought here before the coalition forces arrived.

“We have an obligation to help if there is even the slightest chance of someone being alive down there.”

Men from 59 Commando Engineers were working in shifts inside the statue’s 30ft-high hollow plinth.

The steel figure of Saddam, which vanished during fighting, used to dominate a huge marble, pillared amphitheatre in al-Faw town which was dedicated to the tyrant.

British troops stepped in to help after finding local people on the site tearing at the rubble with their bare hands.

Staff Sergeant George Lamplough, 35, who was among the digger teams, said: “I’ve just worked 12 hours solid trying to get through the concrete, and it’s tough going.

“We can’t be sure we’ll find anything, but we’ve shown the locals that we believe what they’ve told us and that we’re willing to help.

“Noises have definitely been heard when we’ve stopped to listen, by some of us as well as the locals. So we’ll press on as long as necessary.”

Abu Alal, 47, a shopkeeper and the town’s self-appointed mayor, said yesterday: “We are certain that people are trapped underground and are very grateful to the British for their help.

“It would be a wonderful miracle if someone came out of there alive after all this time.”

The lavish amphitheatre was opened by Saddam 13 years ago and was once adorned with fountains clad in gleaming marble.

But Mr Alal said he recalled teams of foreign engineers arriving on the site and is convinced that a secret bunker complex was installed.

He pointed out masses of heavy-duty cables leading underground and said that two of the classical-style pillars were hollow air shafts. A heavy digging tool was later fitted to a bulldozer to aid the army teams last night.

Here's a sample of the 30% who were "against" our actions in Iraq....this comes out of the Seattle Times today's letter to the editors.....these people make me soooo sick....

Letters to the editor
Doves return
Winning the war in Iraq doesn't mean victory is at hand

Editor, The Times:

There have been a number of letters from individuals claiming that those of us who were against the U.S. invasion of Iraq should "admit we were wrong." I can't speak for 45 percent of the people in the U.S., 90 percent of the people of the world, nearly every organized religion and the pope, all of whom were against this invasion. But responding for myself, I'm not sure how the fact that the largest and best-equipped military in the history of the world easily defeated the Iraqi armed forces means we were wrong.

No one said the U.S. wouldn't win. What we did say is that invading Iraq without the support of the rest of the world would increase worldwide resentment of the U.S. and set a dangerous precedent whereby any nation could invade another "preemptively," based on a presumed threat.

In addition, there are many countries with repressive, well-armed governments. Should the U.S. invade them too? And of course, there's the cost of the invasion and its impact on the deficit, Social Security and Medicare.

I will be happy to admit I was wrong if 10 years from now there is less worldwide terrorism and more stability in the Middle East, and 30 years from now Social Security and Medicare are in sound financial shape. At present, however, none of these outcomes seems very likely.
Henry Perrin, Vashon

The Afghan matrix

Please allow us to disagree with those writing in this Sunday's Northwest Voices that recent events prove the "rightness" of the war in Iraq and the "wrongness" of those opposed.

To pretend that those of us against this war are for Saddam Hussein or for prolonging his rule is ludicrous. The only Americans in the history books (who were) pro-Saddam were officials of the Reagan and first Bush administrations.

To oppose the savaging of our diplomatic relations around the globe, to want more rigorous weapons inspections (and time for them to work), and to see other priorities, such as requiring the Israelis and Palestinians to end their struggle, is hardly being either anti-American or pro-dictator.

Further, to assert that the war is "won" and the Iraqis liberated seems premature. One need only take a look at the current status of Afghanistan, the last recipient of our troops and bombs: the poppy fields are flourishing, the Taliban is gaining strength, the women are back in burqas and the local warlords are fighting it out all over again.

I can assure you, Jerry Rhodes ("Cue the music," April 13), there are no ladies, fat or otherwise, singing in Afghanistan. Will the same course of events occur in Iraq with "aid" given in the form of American food, a few schools to replace the ones destroyed in the invasion, and benign neglect, allowing the country to deteriorate from disease and civil strife?
Fern Honore and Michael Kyte, Seattle

Behold a pale horse

Where are the defenders of the peace now? I do not believe (myself) to be a prototypical representative of the defenders of the peace, far from it. I even agree to the death penalty. However, it is possible that, like me, the defenders of the peace are in their houses, plunged in a deep sadness after seeing that humanity is irreversibly despoiled of one of the boldest parts of its cultural patrimony, while tens of marines were protecting the Ministry of Oil.

Or perhaps they have seen the photos of corpses of men, women and children piled in the hospitals, waiting some improbable claim by a relative, and now, the defenders of the peace, like me, are quietly mourning.

Or maybe they have noticed that after Iraq comes Syria and later Iran and then who knows what else and, like me, they are silently praying for the innocent lives that will be lost.

Or perhaps, like me, the defenders of the peace no longer have any hope that this wave of barbarism, death and hatred will stop before nothing.
Damian Oscar Castro, Issaquah

Winning's not enough?

To all you hawks out there who littered the Sunday letters-to-the-editor page with your jubilant jibes at us doves — why? You've won, haven't you? Consciences bothering you just a tad?

The invasion of Iraq seems to have turned out OK, with no biological or chemical attacks on our soldiers, and we join you in thanking God for that. But the pope and the rest of us are supposed to admit we're wrong in marching for that "peace on Earth" on your Christmas cards? Now there's a twist.

And you think it's over? In our justifiable reprisal against al-Qaida for 9/11, much of the world united with us. Now we're united once again. This is an international peace movement we're talking about, folks, and we're proud to be part of it. When you're ready, you're welcome to join us.

Think not? Wait until you hear about the horrible, cruel, repressive and inhumane regimes of Syria and Iran and North Korea! (And Yemen and Nigeria and Lebanon and Liberia and France?)
Patricia Weenolsen, Seattle

Celebrate if

You published a lot of gloating letters (Northwest Voices, April 11) from people who are celebrating what they perceive to be a victory in Iraq. Of course the mightiest military in the world could take down a de-fanged government. Victory is about so much more than military dominance.

If this war was to ensure that the Iraqi people are fed, clothed, healthy and secure, hundreds of thousands are still in serious jeopardy. If it's about removing weapons of mass destruction... we haven't found any yet. If it's about reducing the threat of terrorism, we've done nothing, except perhaps to fan the flame of Muslim fundamentalism. If it was about stabilizing the region, right now there is increased instability. And if it was about bringing the world together to address threats to our security, we've clearly done the opposite.

A victory celebration is premature to say the least.
Elly Worden, Mukilteo

Hearken, hawks

How depressing that so many letters in Sunday's Times had such a vitriolic, pro-Bush tone.

Please, folks, check out other news sources besides KVI hate radio, Fox propaganda or Bush speeches — such as BBC.com, Robert Fisk of the Independent, or The Christian Science Monitor.

The trouble caused by this war is a lot more complicated than our president is telling us.
Margaret Byers, Seattle

No place like home

At first glance, John Raymond McLane's appeal to "The Wizard of Oz" to explain the war in Iraq ("Behind the curtain," April 13) seems hopelessly naive, but it actually makes perfect sense.

The wizard sent Dorothy and company after the wicked witch to avoid dealing with their more immediate concerns, education (brain), health care (heart) and economic recovery (courage).

Our heroes had better hurry back and confront the W(iz) soon or Dorothy may not have much worth coming home to!
Douglas Zimmer, Snohomish

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company

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