Posted on 06/21/2003 1:35:05 AM PDT by kattracks
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- U.S. forces broke into an abandoned community hall early Saturday and found piles of intelligence equipment and top secret documents bearing the seal of the former Iraqi secret service.
Upstairs above the hall, which also was used as a funeral parlor, the troops found two large rooms stacked with cryptograph machines, secure transmission devices and binders of documents, with more papers strewn on the floor.
Some of the documents made reference to Iraq's nuclear program, including manifests for the delivery of communications equipment to the Iraqi nuclear agency. One letter, dated Feb. 7, 1998, from the National Security Council of Iraq was addressed to the Iraqi Nuclear Organization, with a carbon to the Mukhabarat, the secret intelligence service.
Most of the equipment appeared to be old models, but some were still in their original boxes and had apparently never been used. They included equipment made by prominent U.S. and European companies like Motorola and Thompson.
"It's potentially significant," said Capt. Ryan McWilliams, the battalion intelligence officer on the raid, using his flashlight to scan some of the papers. He said there were "potentially some pretty strong documents regarding the intelligence service."
Many of the papers were marked either Top Secret or Personal.
About 50 soldiers from the 1st Armored Division, belonging to a unit nicknamed "the Gunners," sealed off part of Baghdad's Azamiya district with seven armored vehicles and stormed the building around 1 a.m.
After trying to break through the door with a sledgehammer, the troops were surprised when a squatter opened the lock from the inside and welcomed them in.
Azamiya had been a center of support for Saddam Hussein's regime and was the neighborhood where he, or someone presenting himself as Saddam, last appeared in public before the capture of Baghdad was completed on April 9.
The raid was one of scores of operations the military has conducted in the capital and around the country since Sunday, when the U.S.-led provisional administration ended an amnesty program for Iraqis to surrender illegal weapons.
Meanwhile, an estimated 2,000 Iraqi Shiites staged a demonstration outside the gate of the U.S. political and military headquarters in Iraq. The headquarters is located in Saddam's former presidential compound, called the Republican Palace.
American soldiers on Wednesday shot and killed two people after a similar protest by former Iraqi army soldiers turned into a stone-throwing melee.
Saturday's demonstration was unusually large and noisy, but peaceful. The demonstrators were protesting the lack of jobs and said they had a list of political demands. They sought permission for a delegation to present the list to the coalition authorities.
"We want an honest government, not thieves," read one banner among the throng of people. "Iraq should be ruled by no one but its people," read another.
Nationwide military raids, part of the weeklong Operation Desert Scorpion, have failed to stem a tide of attacks against U.S. forces.
A rocket-propelled grenade aimed at U.S. soldiers Thursday night missed its target and slammed into a power transformer in the town of Fallujah, 35 miles west of Baghdad, knocking out much of the city's power. A soldier suffered a concussion from the explosion and another suffered bruises, the military said.
Insurgents have targeted power and water installations, apparently hoping to raise Iraqi frustration with the occupation authorities.
The U.N. Development Program reported Thursday that power delivery to Baghdad fell to 800 megawatts from 1300 megawatts two weeks ago because of sabotage and the soaring heat, which has reached 113 degrees Fahrenheit.
In Vienna, Austria, diplomats said U.N. atomic experts have tracked down tons of the uranium feared stolen from Iraq's largest nuclear research facility, much of it apparently found on or near the site.
The Tuwaitha nuclear facility was thought to contain hundreds of tons of natural uranium and nearly two tons of low-enriched uranium, which could be further processed for arms use. Tuwaitha was left unguarded after Iraqi troops fled the area on the eve of the war.
U.S. troops didn't secure the area until April 7. In the meantime, looters from surrounding villages stripped it of uranium storage barrels they later used to hold drinking water.
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AP writer Nadia Abou el-Magd contributed to this report from Baghdad.
However, Saddam used to think of himself as a potentate, and he watched a LOT of movies.
Maybe that is exactly what he did.
U.S. troops didn't secure the area until April 7. In the meantime, looters from surrounding villages stripped it of uranium storage barrels they later used to hold drinking water.And now, after drinking the water, they find themselves much in demand in the electricityless town because they glow in the dark :)
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