Satellite photos show Saddam’s base to train al-Qaeda terrorists (Salman Pak Jetliner)

Center for Security Policy ^ | March 17th, 2003

[Sabertooth]

Satellite photos show Saddam’s base to train al-Qaeda terrorists

Jet fuselage at Iraq's Salman Park facility is used to hijackers (Space Imaging)

Rush Limbaugh released high-resolution satellite imagery today, on his website, of Iraq’s Salman Park terrorist training center.

This facility, which photographs show houses a full-scale jet fuselage, is used to train terrorists how to hijack civilian airliners, buses and trains, as well as assassination and kidnapping. Reports by defectors, including Sabah Khodada, who served as an administrator at the facility for six months, indicate that “this camp is specialized in exporting terrorism to the whole world.”

Not only did Iraq provide the training necessary to take control of airliners during flight, but some terrorists “were taken and trained to drive airplanes at the School of Aviation, north of Baghdad.”

Khodada concludes that Iraq had a hand in training some of the September 11 hijackers, arguing that “these kind of attacks must be, and have to be, organized by a capable state, such as Iraq.”

[Sabertooth]

If these pics have been posted before, I missed them. From Rush Limbaugh's site...

Jet Fuselage in Salman Pak, Iraq Used to Train Al-Qaeda Terrorists

March 14, 2003

For months, I've been telling you about the airliner fuselage used by Al-Qaeda terrorists to train hijackers. It's in Salman Pak, Iraq - and now we have pictures to prove it. (Click on each photo for a larger image.) Space Imaging's IKONOS Satellite - the world's first one-meter commercial satellite - collected these images on April 25, 2000.

Click for larger image

Click for larger image

Click for larger image

IKONOS travels 423 miles above the earth's surface at a speed of 17,500mph. Its imagery can be used to accurately map, measure and monitor anywhere on the earth. According to former UN inspectors, Salman Pak was once and could be the site of a probable BW research.

The Salman Pak facility also includes, according to Iraqi defectors, a terrorism training facility where they train on a civilian airliner parked in a field. You can see the aircraft in the image on the right. The entire facility sits in an ox bow of the Tigris River, some 25 km south of Baghdad. This series of shots gradually gets closer to the plane’s fuselage, located at the southern (bottom) part of the facility, above the bend in the river.

Credit: Space Imaging.

Iraq's Tie to Al-Qaeda Terrorists, Airline Hijackings...

(Aviation & Space Tech. Weekly: Iraq's Tie to Al-Qaeda Terrorists, Airline Hijackings)
(PBS.org Highly secret terrorist training camp at Salman Pak)

Rush Limbaugh LINK

[Sabertooth]

((((((growl)))))

[backhoe]

Locator ^

[Conspiracy Guy]

No secret here but the lefties wouldn't believe the connection if it blew up in their faces. If all of their faces were somewhere else, I'd be glad to wait and let them find out. But since many of their faces are in too close to mine, I'm supporting GWB's plan to save their faces.

[theDentist]

"how to hijack civilian airliners, buses and trains"

:-) I just got the image of some group of terrorists overtaking a train in Europe and telling the Engineer to take them to Angola.

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[Charles Henrickson]

You know, I follow the news fairly closely, but I did not even know about this Salman Pak thing until two days ago! If this is true, if it can be verified and documented that Saddam has a terrorist training facility--especially one that trains terrorists to hijack jet airplanes!--then this is THE mother of all smoking guns! This then would be clear, incontrovertible evidence of an Irag-terrorism connection. In that case, I don't think there could be any question about our right to take out Saddam. It clearly would not be a "first strike"--it would be a "strike back." It would not be "pre-emptive"--it would be "post-emptive"!

[janetgreen]

Since they have located this place, I assume that it will be bombed to kingdom come very soon.

[veracious]

I've heard from a friend that Salman Pak, Iraq is located in the Kurdish control northern part of Iraq. Could someone give us some information about this?

[Jeremiah Jr]

Between the banks...bump

Daniel 8:16
And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, "Gabriel, make this man understand the vision."

[exnavy]

Thanks for the bump, just more fuel on the growing fire of evidence.

[struwwelpeter]

It was proven on these threads:

here and here that the aircraft in question is NOT a Boeing 707. There are plenty of reasons to get rid of Saddam, but using incorrect data only leads neutral observers to believe that the all US information is suspect.

[struwwelpeter]

Note the overhead views of the Salman Pak acft and schematics of a 707. The Salman Pak acft is likely a Tu-154 "Careless", many of which litter the junkyards of eastern Europe. The airport near Erfurt, former East Germany, has one which has been converted to a cafe.

Tu-154

[ravingnutter]

FYI...

Republican Strategist's Iraq/Bin Laden Connection Webpage

Piasa's post on Iraq/Bin Laden Connection (detailed)

[Charles Henrickson]

. . . the aircraft in question is NOT a Boeing 707.

It doesn't matter if it's a Boeing 707, a TU-154, or whatever. It's a plane. The only question is whether it has been used for training terrorists. If it has--and the testimony of defectors seems to confirm this--then Saddam has been sponsoring and supporting terrorism, which makes him guilty as hell and eminently due for bombing to kingdom come.

[Sabertooth]

It was proven on these threads: here and here that the aircraft in question is NOT a Boeing 707.

Thanks for the update, I'd missed those threads.

AM, can you change my parenthetical to the headline to read "(Salman Pak jetliner)" ?

Thanks.

[struwwelpeter]

The only question is whether it has been used for training terrorists

I wholehearted agree. As far as Iraq using it in "anti-terrorist" training, I find that as likely as Palestinians, Libyans, and Chechnyans undergoing the same. Note the similiarities in seating arrangements with the Boeing 757:

Tupolev-154

Food for thought.

[Paleo Conservative]

. . . the aircraft in question is NOT a Boeing 707.
struwwelpeter

It doesn't matter if it's a Boeing 707, a TU-154, or whatever. It's a plane.
Charles Henrickson

Note the similiarities in seating arrangements with the Boeing 757:
struwwelpeter

Yes it does matter. If the type of airplane is incorrectly stated, people will doubt the veracity of the rest of the information. I myself tend to disregard news sources that have high error rates. Considering that Iraq has been a Soviet and Russian client for years, the Tupolev is much more likely than a Boeing aircraft.

Struwwelpeter is right about the similarity in seating arrangements between the Tupolev-154 and the Boeing 757. The Tupolev is based on reverse engineering of the Boeing 727. The Boeing 707, 720, 727, 737, and 737 all share the same upper body cross-section. Terrorists trained to control the cabin of a Tupolev-154 should be able to control similarly dimensioned Boeing and Airbus single aisle planes.

[Jhoffa_]

...using incorrect data only leads neutral observers to believe that the all US information is suspect.

It leads me to believe there's a campaign of fearmongering..

Big difference between telling someone: "Saddam is training terrorists to take over a plane ike yours! He even provided them with one! An American plane!"

And: "There's an old airplane sitting in the desert in Iraq. Saddam claims it's being used to train anti-terror forces. But, he may be allowing terrorists to train there as well."

IMO the "707" part of the tale was a hinge point.. An important factor; I know my ears perked up when I heard it.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Excellent find, Saber. Thank you.

Bookmarked!