Inside Saddam's ornate palacesFifty-six windows on its facade, 18 giant rooms, 12 balconies, eight spacious toilets, five staircases and three separate roof units.
And this is just one of 15 sumptuous buildings in the same complex.
While all around the south of Iraq people live in squalor, who would live in a palace like this?
The answer is obvious: Saddam Hussein.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2925297.stmSo the Brits took it over to show Iraqis their new masters were just as corrupt as their old masters. Oh the hypocrisy of the Brits and their faithful propaganda rag the BBC.
British troops take over Saddam's palace in BasraApril 7 2003
...The ostentation of the buildings and gardens - not to mention a swimming pool and yacht moorings - struck the Marines after pushing through scenes of appalling poverty and destruction.
"It's fairly striking - the rich-poor divide, particularly having just driven through the outskirts of Basra and seeing the extraordinary poverty there," said Captain Oliver Lee, Operations Officer with 42 Commando.
"To then come in here is quite an extraordinary experience. If one assumes this is the gatehouse it is not short on opulence."
The "gatehouse", the first building inside the perimeter gates was bigger than most colonial mansions and had a heavily ornate carved wooden door and massive pillars on top of the front steps.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/07/1049567618442.htmlBritish labour MP report
"The British troops in many ways have more control in Al Amarah than Sadam ever had..."
http://www.epolitix.com/EN/MPWebsites/Dai+Havard/37238fe3-1e9c-4a5d-948e-923e74699692.htm![](http://k53.pbase.com/o4/93/329493/1/59142324.Iraq2006082.jpg)
![](http://k47.pbase.com/o4/93/329493/1/59142329.Iraq2006100.jpg)
![](http://ct.pbase.com/o4/93/329493/1/59142338.Iraq2006151.jpg)
![](http://k53.pbase.com/o4/93/329493/1/59142384.Iraq2006212.jpg)
![](http://k41.pbase.com/o4/93/329493/1/59142386.Iraq2006213.jpg)
![](http://k43.pbase.com/o4/93/329493/1/59142392.Iraq2006226.jpg)
![](http://k53.pbase.com/o4/93/329493/1/59142400.Iraq2006235.jpg)
http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/image/59142404![](http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39063000/jpg/_39063737_203afppalace1.jpg)
![](http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39063000/jpg/_39063733_basrapalanceap.jpg)
![](http://k47.pbase.com/u20/kissfoto/large/36559009.BASRA032.jpg)
more:
http://www.pbase.com/kissfoto/basra_palacehttp://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/basrahMay 2004: Basra Palace - Brigade Headquarters
![](http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39064000/jpg/_39064319_11toiletafp.jpg)
Even the bathrooms and toilets are decorated with a gold finish
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/photo_gallery/2926141.stm