St. Petersburg Times (Florida) April 08, 2003
Focus On Hussein's Presidential Palaces
There are many presidential sites in Baghdad. Most are vast compounds containing presidential and VIP residences as well as offices and warehouses. In 1998, U.N. inspectors said the sites were usually well-defined areas behind high walls or fences. Besides the guesthouses and out-buildings, there is often an artificial lake with small artificial decorative islands located in a way to give access to the lake from each guesthouse. The U.N. inspectors at the time identified them as possible weapons sites. They have been heavily targeted during the coalition's bombing campaign. It is unclear how many presidential palaces are located throughout Iraq, though they are believed to number more than 50.
Some main presidential sites in Baghdad:
NEW PRESIDENTIAL PALACE
Constructed recently near his Baath Party headquarters, it apparently was built as a residence and for entertainment, though it is unclear how much time the Iraqi president spent there. U.S. troops seized the palace early Monday morning.
ABU GHURAYB PRESIDENTIAL SITE
Built in 1980, the Abu Ghurayb plant in Al-Kindi has been suspected as a biological warfare site by American intelligence since 1988. The Ghraib Infant Formula Production Plant is 3 miles from the abu-Ghraib military complex and apparently has never produced baby formula. The complex is believed to produce botulinum toxin and possibly ricin. A vaccine plant and the suspected weapons plant were struck during Desert Storm in 1991. The facility was damaged by U.S./U.K. air attacks in 1998 during Operation Desert Fox but had been rebuilt. Like other palaces, this complex doubles as a security compound, housing special security and other elite guards.
AL SALAM PALACE
Located on the site of the former Republican Guard Headquarters, which was destroyed during the 1991 Gulf War. Part of a 976,800 square yard complex outside Baghdad. Begun while U.N. sanctions have been in effect, construction was completed in September 1999.
AL SIJOOD PRESIDENTIAL SITE
Larger than Britain's Buckingham Palace, it is on the west bank of the Tigris River in central Baghdad. The complex, built on former public areas, houses the main palace as well as offices and accommodations for servants and officials, gardens, fountains and statues. It was last visited by U.N. weapons inspectors on Dec. 2, 2002, in the first unannounced inspection of a presidential site in Iraq.
AL AZIMIYAH PALACE
Located about 6 miles north of central Baghdad, on the eastern bank of the Tigris River it was completed in 1995. Al Azimiyah occupies almost 0.4 square miles.
RADWANIYAH PRESIDENTIAL SITE
Located about 9 miles west of central Baghdad adjacent to the now Baghdad International Airport, it serves as Hussein's main residence. The 9.3-square-mile compound is also known as Al-Qaddissiya, after a 7th century battle in what is now Iraq. Radwaniyah prison is inside the Radwaniyah Presidential Site. The Al-Radwaniyah detention center is a former prisoner-of-war facility near Baghdad, and reportedly the site of torture as well as mass executions.
PRESIDENTIAL PALACE
Also known as the Republican Palace. This 2-square-mile compound is the hub of Iraq's government. Hussein's office is in the domed Presidential Palace, which overlooks the Tigris River. The palace is surrounded by Republican Guard and Special Security Forces camps and apartment blocks for some of Hussein's supporters. Renovation to the Baghdad Republican Palace in the late 1990s tripled the size of the complex.
Sources: GlobalSecurity.org, CNN
Copyright © 2003, Times Publishing Company
