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SADDAM HUSSEIN'S PALACE: Homey, It's Not

Monday, April 7, 2003
(Updated 5:51 PM ET)
The Associated Press

Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said troops were looking for intelligence -- leads to other regime targets, documentation of weapons of mass destruction. He said there were no immediate reports that such material was found. But he gave at least one other reason why the palace was captured: to send a message that "we're in there ... that this regime is gone."

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- AP
The U.S. Army took the war to Saddam Hussein on Monday — to the heart of his capital city, to the dusty remains of his opulent palace, to his hot tubs and barbecue pit.

With little organized resistance, the Army's 3rd Infantry Division rolled through Baghdad, taking over major roads and settling into the New Presidential Palace. There, they found gold-painted faux French furniture, fabulous views of the Tigris River and a television in every room.

Homey, it's not.

"This used to be a nice place, they should make it like a Six Flags, or something," said Spc. Robert Blake, 20, of State College, Pa., and the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment.

Saddam has many palaces, and the Americans visited two on Sunday, including another about two miles away.
(More: USA TODAY)
2003 © The Associated Press

Dan