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Marines free 123 from Iraq hellhole
Straits Times ^ | 4-16-03 | Derwin Pereira

Posted on 04/15/2003 11:41:05 PM PDT by petuniasevan

Marines free 123 from Iraq hellhole

By Derwin Pereira

FOR three days, American tanks have been shelling a military intelligence building in the posh Al-Khathamia area in west Baghdad.

The dozen or so tanks are not here to pound intransigent fighters but to break down concrete beams and steel, to reach bunkers deep underground at the Al-Istikhbarat Al-'Askariya facility.


The Marines found 123 prisoners, including five women, barely alive in an underground warren of cells and torture chambers.

Being trapped underground probably kept them safe from the bombing of Baghdad by the coalition.

Severely emaciated, some had survived by eating the scabs off their sores. All the men had beards down to their waists, said onlookers.

Most looked absolutely dazed when they emerged, said Mr Sadoun Mohamed, 37, who lives in the area.

'They had not seen sunlight for a long time,' he said. 'They kept blinking and covering their faces.' He said they were taken to the Saddam Hospital for treatment.

Their names were posted on the walls of the Al-Hajabehia Mosque in west Baghdad, as were names of some 40 others known to have been executed or murdered in prison.

Hundreds of anxious locals wait for word of their family, relatives and friends, some of whom were taken away more than 10 years ago.

Outside Al-Istikhbarat Al-'Askariya, Mr Sadeq Al Saeed, 24, a construction worker, has been waiting sleepless for the last 36 hours. He said he had heard the facility had five levels below ground.

He said his father, an Iraqi army captain, was killed in 1991 during the first Gulf War, and his cousins Amer and Jasem and some 50 others were picked out by the secret police for chanting anti-Saddam slogans during the funeral procession.

'That was the last I saw of them,' he said.

'In the night, people raided their houses, blindfolded them and took them away.'

He hopes against hope that the Marines will be able to find his cousins, who were brought here to be interrogated.

This hellhole is believed to be one of many for Iraq's political prisoners. Thousands may still be behind bars though the regime released many criminals from prisons before the war.

The United States soldiers at Al-Istikhbarat Al-'Askariya would not say what they were doing there. Their tanks blocked the entrance.

This place could be part of the labyrinth of underground facilities which might still shelter regime members.

Under one palace, a German-designed 1,900 sq m bunker was built at a cost of US$90 million (S$160 million) with luxurious accommodation for the Iraqi President, his family, their bodyguards and staff.

More than 24 bunkers were identified 12 years ago. There may be more now, located under schools, hospitals, even mosques, and linked together.

The security police, or Da'irat Al-Mukhabbarat Al-'Amma; Iraqi Intelligence Service; and military intelligence, also built cells and tunnels underground.

Taxi driver Hathem Ejam, 36, said Mr Saddam's older son Uday, also used them for his harem discards.

Relaying widely-believed rumours, he said: 'He would pick any young girl he liked from the street, rape her, shave her head bald and then get his guards to dump her in an underground cell.'


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: atrocity; baghdad; dungeons; iraq; marines; prisoners; saddam; underground
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To: oprahstheantichrist
"The bigger question is; this story is so horrifying, why is it being ignored by the newswires?"

. . .any answers out there as to why this story is getting so little coverage?

41 posted on 04/16/2003 12:52:16 PM PDT by cricket
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To: petuniasevan
Is this one of those places where people were hearing voices, etc. ...??
42 posted on 04/16/2003 1:36:56 PM PDT by CyberAnt ( America - You Are The Greatest!!)
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To: MeeknMing
This article doesn't seem ligit for some reason.
If it were true, surely the media would already have
it on non-stop for the past couple of days. I bit
at this and even related it to my husband. Why would
anyone want to post a fake article? Can someone speak
to this one way or the other? This would be BIG news
if true and even the mainstream media wouldn't keep
mum.

Twinkie
43 posted on 04/16/2003 3:52:22 PM PDT by Twinkie
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To: Twinkie
The media wouldn't keep mum ?

Like the CNN editor admitted they kept mum about Saddamite atrocities for 12 YEARS ?

There IS a vast conspiracy, and it is LEFT-WING.

The Right-Wing is out in the open, speaking up for the freedom of the common man.

44 posted on 04/16/2003 4:09:22 PM PDT by hoosierham
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To: Twinkie
I would bet it is legit . . .
45 posted on 04/16/2003 4:30:58 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP (Bu-bye Saddam! / Check out my Freeper site !: http://home.attbi.com/~freeper/wsb/index.html)
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To: KC_Conspirator
"Someday some idiot will come along and say that none of this happened".

A very smart and prophetic statement for a "politically naive" guy who did nothing but play golf, wouldn't you say?

46 posted on 04/16/2003 4:33:18 PM PDT by El Gato
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To: KingKongCobra
I'll wait for a legitamite source.

Like the New York Times, the LA Times or CNN? The Straights Time is a completely legitimate news source, and is probably more reliable than any in the list above.

47 posted on 04/16/2003 4:40:39 PM PDT by El Gato
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To: El Gato
Really??? OK (sarcasm)

Well then all the Singapore Straight Times has to do is provide ONE picture.

Any source from ARAB news or .ru or Singapore, Hindo, Iran, China, in short, all non western media is discounted until independently verified.

You wanna get excited be a BullShat article from a bogus paper with no corroboration or visual evidence, be my guest.

I'll wait for a reliable source.
48 posted on 04/16/2003 4:54:30 PM PDT by KingKongCobra
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To: cricket
.any answers out there as to why this story is getting so little coverage?

Because it's a FANTASY????

49 posted on 04/16/2003 4:55:19 PM PDT by KingKongCobra
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To: KingKongCobra
FNC Alert; Greta Van S. just announced "major/disturbing story out of Syria" just breaking; details to follow.

No idea if it has anything to do with this issue or not.

Stay tuned to FOX!
50 posted on 04/16/2003 6:40:26 PM PDT by Uncle Jaque (Whack, Fal-De-La!; Babylon is fallen!)
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To: MeeknMing
"That SOB named EVERYTHING after himself, didn't he? . . "

I sure wish someone would rename that hospital.
51 posted on 04/16/2003 8:35:39 PM PDT by mjaneangels@aolcom
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To: Blood of Tyrants
I hate to rain on everyones' parade, but is it possible that some of these people were REAL criminals? You know, thieves, rapists, murderers, etc. Highly doubtful. those 'children's prison' victims were family members of political prisoners. and if you just hear the earnest stories, they were given 5-10 years for the simple expression of distate for a tyrant.

Last October, Saddam freed 'all the prisoners' ie the real criminals. Now consider - what kind of people do you need to become violent guerilla fighters and 'fedayeen'? Just my speculation, but I think Saddam needed 'paid volunteers' for the violence of war, and who better than the criminal class for recruitment.

52 posted on 04/16/2003 8:36:00 PM PDT by WOSG (All Hail The Free Republic of Iraq! God Bless our Troops!)
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To: petuniasevan
The freeing of these 123 Iraqia:

Was NOT done in Susan Sarandon's name.
Was NOT done in Martin Sheen's name.
Was NOT done in Tim Robbins' name.
Was NOT done in Janene Garofalo's name.
Was NOT done in Mike Farrell's name.

These Iraqis would still be buried if the peaceniks had their way!

http://www.notintheirname.us
53 posted on 04/16/2003 8:56:51 PM PDT by Martus
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Comment #54 Removed by Moderator

To: RedWhiteBlue
The Straits Times is a very legitimate newspaper. One of the recognized stock indexes in the Far East is a product of their work. I would not discount this source. However, I would like to see this story confirmed by another couple of sources. And, there should be photographs of these people being brought out.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, not yet up on UPI, and FR, "Who's Next?"

Latest book(let), "to Restore Trust in America."

55 posted on 04/16/2003 10:00:21 PM PDT by Congressman Billybob ("Saddam has left the building. Heck, the building has left the building.")
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To: petuniasevan
How long will it take for the truth about Saddam and the Ba'ath Party to sink in?

For the Iraqi people, the truth sank in many years ago.

For Republicans, the truth has now fully sunk in.

For rank and file Democrats, the truth is beginning to sink in for many of them.

For the "Arab Street", the majority of Democrat politicians and America's "anti-war" activists, the truth will never sink in.

56 posted on 04/16/2003 10:21:40 PM PDT by Polybius
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To: lawgirl
I hate the "already posted somewhere else messages" So what. The thread will be short lived. And if it was posted somewhere else, then how come it did not come up in a search.

Answer: Because someone posted it in the middle of the night, it was drowned out because of some other significant news event or for some other reason no one saw it and it fell out of rotation.

So, someone rightly puts this interesting article back up that I have been trying to find and now it gets bumped.

Please, enuf already with the duplicate thread posts, at least when the original thread is nowhere to be found.

We now return control of your browser to you.
57 posted on 04/17/2003 4:32:24 AM PDT by MissBaby
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
Sadly there is only one way you are gonna get the media coveragethat these stories need & that is to take the Hollywood leftist over to get there hands dirty pulling people out of these dungeons while reminding them that the people they are helping would have been left to rot if the Hollywood types had things their way & do all this on camera. Broadcast it from the various networks REPEATEDLY!!!
58 posted on 04/17/2003 6:21:23 AM PDT by Nebr FAL owner (.308 "reach out and thump someone " & .50 cal Browning "reach out & CRUSH someone")
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To: Congressman Billybob
Of course the SST is legit. I read their online version occasionally. I was questioning KingKongCobra's statement in reply #7: "I'll wait for a legitamite (sic) source" when I asked "You don't consider the Singapore Straits Times to be legit?" He never gave me an answer.
59 posted on 04/17/2003 8:37:29 AM PDT by RedWhiteBlue
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To: MissBaby
The reason they are posted are twofold- we don't need to waste the bandwidth, and it consolidates the commentary to one thread for those of us interested in the item.

This is why it's important to, first post an article with its title entact so people can find it if they are searching, and second, that people actually do a search before they post.

60 posted on 04/17/2003 9:45:56 AM PDT by lawgirl (Bad spellers of the world--UNTIE!!!)
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