Iraqi camels can be dangerous
Photo: Reuters
Saddam's camels of mass destruction
Documents recovered in Iraq outline Hussein's plans to counter foreign invasion
Saddam's secret weapon: Saddam Hussein planned on using "camels of mass destruction" to defend Iraq against invading forces, the London-based Sunday Telegraph reported.
According to the report, the Iraqi dictator planned to send camels fitted with explosives to attack enemy lines.
Saddam reportedly initiated the camel scheme shortly before the American-led coalition forces invasion into Iraq three years ago, as detailed in a 37 page document. The documents were seized after the fall of Baghdad but the Pentagon only published them recently, along with other documents seized during the invasion.
Earlier this month the Pentagon published on its website original documents in Arabic, hoping to find someone who could translate them.
The official, hand-written documents detailed outlined the planned resistance to the invasion, including instructions on the training of suicide bombers.
The memo describes the martyrs, who were supposed to be foreign volunteers, and specifies the training programs to be headed by local commanders.
The document further details that "the second phase of the training will concentrate on activating body explosives, with the aid of motorcycles, cars, and camels". Camels "will be supplied by the general intelligence," the document noted.
The documents are written in a local Arab dialect and expose part of the bureaucratic system Saddam enacted in Iraq. The documents were translated by native Arabic speakers from "The Free Republic," a virtual organization claiming the documents reinforce American and British claims that Saddam turned Iraq into a terror haven.
If the translation is accurate, it may serve to explain the huge number of foreign terrorists operating in Iraq on behalf of the ousted regime, although the explosive camels have not yet been put into use.
