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| Iraq |
| Saddam’s Bunkers Said ’Impossible’ to Destroy |
| 2003-03-25 |
| Underground bunkers built for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein can resist massive bombardment and those hiding inside could survive for up to six months, a retired Yugoslav army officer who helped build them said. "I believe that if Saddam does not leave, and I think he has nowhere to go, they will find him in one of these facilities -- if he does not find a way out by then," retired Lt. Col. Resad Fazlic told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. "These bunkers can resist a direct hit of a 20 kiloton- strong bomb or atomic bomb impact and keep those inside independent of the outside world for six months," said Fazlic, who oversaw the building of the bunkers in the late 1970s. I'm hoping that the CIA had a talk with this guy some time ago. U.S.-led forces started their six-day-old air and land assault aimed at ousting the Iraqi leader by hitting his compound in Baghdad. It was not clear if the compound that was hit was one of the two in the Iraqi capital that, Fazlic said, were built for the Iraqi leader. "I did not take part in the building of this bunker, code-named "2000," but I know it is larger than others, about the size of a soccer pitch, and has everything he might need for a longer stay inside," Fazlic said, referring to one of the Iraqi leader's bunkers. That would be the German built fuhrerbunker Fazlic said underground concrete fortresses were built by the former Yugoslav military in the cities of Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk, Basra and Nassiriya after Iraqi officials toured similar facilities in former Yugoslavia. "We also built the so-called "zero," "P" and "C" types of bunkers which were smaller and meant for the military, communications centers and so on but can also resist heavy bombardment and longer isolation," he said. Hope we bought the plans from them. Fazlic said he took part in the building of more than a dozen underground bunkers in former Yugoslavia which was then led by late President Josip Broz Tito, who had warm relations with Saddam Hussein. Should of known these two would be buddies. "We built all of these facilities in Iraq because they liked what they saw here," Fazlic said, citing a large bunker dug into a mountain near the southern Bosnian town of Konjic that was meant for the former Yugoslav government in case of war. "It was a little bit more difficult in Iraq because of the flat terrain. But you would use a valley, dig at the bottom of a hill, build a bunker and than cover it so it can't be spotted from outside," he said. If they were built in the 70's, I doubt that we were watching "The most important thing was to design the main bunker and all those layers above it which were the main protection. Even if you only had to penetrate the main bunker with a missile it would have to impact it at the angle of 90 degrees, otherwise it would ricochet off its rounded surface," he said. "But before that, it would have to go through protective layers ... and to calculate all the right angles for impact and fire several successful hits in line is almost impossible," he added. Not with GPS it isn't. If we have a good fix on them, we can drop bunker busters in the same hole all day long. The bunkers also had their own air filtration systems and alternative exits in case the main entrance was blocked. They could only be opened from inside, Fazlic said. Can't have the neighbors dropping in with torches and pitchforks now, can you? |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #11 "...late President Josip Broz Tito, who had warm relations with Saddam Hussein" I suspect that was a Freudian slip - Tito's in hell already, waiting for Sammy to show up, so he can say: "Hot enough for ya Sam? Bwwwaaahhhaahaa" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-03-25 18:55:24 |
| #10 I am sure that we will scope out the area and using various technologies will find the ventilation systems, etc etc. Then with a little time we can turn the most expensive bunker into a tomb in the order of the Pharoahs. Then after all is said and done, we can open it up, sanitize it and make it a postwar tourist destination. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-03-25 15:39:21 |
| #9 John, Milo's bunker was fine... It was using a YUGO sedan as a getaway car that was the weak link in the plan. Just followed the blue smoke. (Yugo: The finest in cutting edge Serbo-Croation technology...) |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2003-03-25 15:29:18 |
| #8 If Yugo bunkers are that good, how come Milosovich is sitting in a cell? |
| Posted by: john 2003-03-25 15:22:09 |
| #7 What about the thermobaric ones that suck all the oxygen out - good for caves, tunnels, bunkers... |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-03-25 15:09:41 |
| #6 Heh. Leave der kleine fuhrer to die a very slow death in his Furherbunker. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2003-03-25 15:05:37 |
| #5 Hey, you guys are making me think about Jim Brown's run at the end of "The Dirty Dozen". |
| Posted by: penguin 2003-03-25 15:01:51 |
| #4 Pave over the exits or clog the ventilators--either way, it can be Saddam's multi-million dollar tomb. |
| Posted by: Dar Steckelberg 2003-03-25 14:30:12 |
| #3 Or just cheap plain old water. As the Northern Alliance did in Mazar-e-Sharif. |
| Posted by: It seeks its on level 2003-03-25 14:14:13 |
| #2 Old Patriot: actually, I prefer the method where you pour in several tanker-truckloads of gasoline -- following by a lit cigar. But I'm willing to accomodate different points of view and do some experimenting. |
| Posted by: Patrick Phillips 2003-03-25 13:59:29 |
| #1 Find the ventilators and start pouring concrete. Won't take long. Either the filters get clogged and the ventilators seal shut, or it reaches the bunker, and it gets filled. End of story. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-03-25 13:50:33 |