Posted on 03/25/2006 6:23:46 PM PST by blam
Saddam planned to deploy 'camels of mass destruction'
By James Langton
(Filed: 26/03/2006)
Saddam Hussein planned to use "camels of mass destruction" as weapons to defend Iraq, loading them with bombs and directing them towards invading forces.
The animals were part of a plan to arm and equip foreign insurgents drawn up by the dictator shortly before the American-led invasion three years ago, reveals a 37-page report, captured after the fall of Baghdad and just released by the Pentagon. It is part of a cache of thousands of documents that the United States Department of Defence says it does not have the resources to translate.
British soldier in Iraq
Earlier this month, the Pentagon released copies in the original Arabic onto the internet in the hope that others would interpret them into English.
Handwritten on official paper, one of the reports appears to be a road map for the insurgency, with detailed instructions for training what it calls suicide bombers.
In the memo, they are described as "estishehadeyeen", Arabic for suicide martyrs, and would almost certainly have been foreign volunteers.
The memo details a training commission to be headed by senior officers, including a colonel from the "Directory of Political Orientation". Their job, says the report, was to "prepare a very intensive training course", "to raise the physical fitness and train in the use of Kalashnikovs and hand grenades".
It continues: "The largest section of the course will be specialised to focus on using the explosive material in the body, in motorcycle, in cars, and in camels". Camels will be "provided by the Directory of General Military Intelligence".
The memo also reveals the incredible bureaucracy that underpinned Saddam's Iraq. Rifles and hand grenades were to be provided by a Department of Armament and Equipping, explosives by the Directory of Military Engineering and "religious sermons that emphasise jihad'' by the Directory of Political Orientation and the Religious Scholars.
The papers have been translated by Arabic-speaking members of Free Republic, a conservative internet discussion forum that believes the documents will justify British and American claims that Saddam had made Iraq a haven for terrorists.
If the translation is correct, it suggests that many of the foreign fighters now attacking coalition forces and bombing Iraqi civilians were directly trained by the Saddam regime, although there are no known reports of camels being used in suicide attacks.
This plan is not news, the media covered it 4 years ago and "forgot" about it to claim Bush lied. Heck Iraq's Vice President admitted 3000 suicide bombers were training in Iraq.
On 04/01/03 Agence France Presse reported that Vice President Ramadan claimed 6000 arab jihadis had been trained in Iraq and 3000 had volunteered for suicide missions.
On 03/20/03 BBC reported on its global news wire that Saddam had reached an agreement wit "Arab Afghans", to take part in the war. They had been in training camps in Iraq for 6 months prior to the war starting. The agreement allowed the "Arab Afghans" (veterans of the jihad in Afghanistan and also a code word for AL Qaeda) to fight without having to fight under the Baath Party banner. The BBC specifically mentioned that Al Qaeda commanders had entered Iraq from Iran.
You know, FReepers are known for their criticism of the mainstream media. Criticism which is certainly justified. I find it ironic, though, that most of the articles posted and commented on at FR originate from that same mainstream media.
This is an example of a shift away from that. Instead of a FReeper commenting on someone else's content, he's generating his own. And being recognized for it.
Congratulations jveritas!
Release/Translation of Classified PreWar Docs ping. If you want to be added or removed to the ping list, please Freepmail me.
Please add the keyword prewardocs to any articles pertaining to this subject.
thanks, I am late pinging this one!
I wonder if they ever considered developing a Camel TOW missle? *grin*
Great minds think alike!
I've been reading your translations. Good job.
Pray for W and our troops.
Freepers- a group of people that sit on camels in their PJ's intercepting and translating Saddam's war tatics from their computers.
LOL. Even if most of us are only down with the PJ part, we can watch from the sidelines and cheer on the heavy lifters. Mad props to FReeper, jveritas!
ROTGL!!!
Way to go jveritas!
Thank you very much :)
jveritas - I have been away for nearly 10 days freepers pinged me to your posts repeatedly, knowing my interest in this matter.
I can see you are humble about your talents, but want you to know that if it were within my power, I would bestow on your the most valued freeper award. Your hard work on this matter is being picked up by even the British media, I see.
Congratulations and thank you so very, very much for your hard work. It is greatly appreciated and will surely open some eyes to the fact that Saddam worked closely with Al Qaeda. Such work will make people support the war and thus our brave military.
I commend "Freeper jveritas" for his contributions, however, I don't believe this info was released just because the US Government "didn't have the resources" to translate it.
The US Government had the resources to scan and feed it to the Internet....and last I checked the DLI in Monterrey california was still open for business.
I was born, but it wasn't yesterday.....
You are performing a service valued beyond measure to this army mom:) ...and all of the rest of us FReepers.
We are so grateful for the effort and time you are giving this project.
Many, many thanks, jveritas!
You welcome and thank you very much :)
Close enough!!!
Uday and Qusay are now Ed Day courtesy of TOW missles launched during the mid day.
Cindy Alsheenistani called 'em 'freedom fighters' didn't she?
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