Despite not being home we let ourselves in and wandered about Saddams home which is now the US Embassy.

It’s not as great as I had imagined.  Appears Saddam was a bit cheap too.  What he wanted you to believe was gold were instead brass.  Even marble is some spots is really a marble-looking stone.  The pool was a nice size but would have expected larger.

Very plain and dull colors.  Inconsistent types and looks and woods didn’t allow you to get an “oh wow look how impressive this room is” thought.  In hindsight I don’t remember seeing rugs or tapestries.

I also would have expected more paintings.  The ones I did see where about as cheesy as a velvet Elvis.  If you are into Soviet like images of rockets then maybe you’ll like it.  As for the pictures of Saddam they were covered up.

I guess with so many “girlfriends” wandering the palace he didn’t have the time to do the Martha Stewart thing.

Oh and what’s up with the unisex bathrooms?  Never thought I would see that in an Arabic country.

And come on Saddam, you are the “ruler” of an entire country but you go with oak over mahogany for your conference room?

I will give Saddam credit for the grass however.  There was more grass in the front courtyard then I have seen in ALL of Al Anbar thus far.

Rumors persist that there was a prison (more like cages) but when I asked about it no one seem to know.

One of the rooms that people gather in for meetings was the size of a small ballroom.  With a Green Bean Coffee shop, a library of books and DVDs, tables and chairs, an Internet Café, and chess tables this certainly would be my hangout.

Food is better in the palace then at the other chow halls.  Usually, when I travel, I don’t believe anyone when they say the food is better at one chow hall over another.  Same stuff – same quality.  The chow hall was much better and with more variety.

Security was great as I must have presented my ID and cleared my weapon every 10 feet.  Certainly no goofing around.

We tried to find a couple of the Saddam statues that used to sit upon town squares but the fellow giving us the guide said they recently have been moved and didn’t know where they were.  Grrrrr, do you have any idea what I could have gotten on eBay for one of them?

Soon the US will be handing the embassy back to the Iraqis and make home in a new building just down the street.  Be curious to see how the new Iraqi government changes the appearance to forget the demonic legacy of Saddam.

While I was unimpressed with the palace, this was a great experience of a very unique and interesting day.

Semper Fi,

GySgt Jonathan Jenkins

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