The lovely care packages I received while I was gone for a week to Qatar! Thank you to my amazing friends and family who have sent me such wonderful treats!
The Victory Over America palace. It sits just a short drive away from the palace that I work in. It apparently was one of the first targets of OIF in 2003.Here is a short explanation of the unfinshed/bombed palace with French cranes that will probably sit there forever.
"It was then that I learned that the whole area we now refer to as the Victory Base Complex, was a retreat area for Saddam Hussein and high ranking members of the Ba’ath Party. Multiple palaces, including the Victory Over America Palace and the Victory Over Iran Palace, and the Ba’ath Party Headquarters are situated on artificial lakes. The area of Camp Victory known as strawberry hill is actually the product of moving dirty to create these lakes.
Victory Over America Palace was still under construction when the US issued its final ultimatum to Saddam and his sons on March 17, 2003. The cranes we see today were originally leased by French company by the Iraqi government for the construction of this palace. As the story is told around here, the French government demanded that the US disassemble and return the cranes after its bombing campaign began on March 19. The US kindly informed the French that they were welcome to come and retrieve them themselves, so here they sit 7 years later."
(taken from http://meganktlynch.com/2010/09/07/victory-over-america-declared-saddam-this-missile-believes-otherwise-replied-america/)
A cool photo from the Naturalization Ceremony with the Vice President back on 4 July. The rotunda of the palace. My office sits behind the American flag.
A cool photo of the sunrise on 1 Sep beginning Operation New Dawn.
No comments:
Post a Comment