Republican Palace, Baghdad

The United States spared the palace during its shock and awe raid during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, in the belief that it might hold valuable documents.

The architect's watercolour, drawn by Lawrence Wright, shows that the then Royal Palace was originally designed to be only the central section under the dome with two wings.

The rest of the building, extending out from these three sections, was added under Saddam Hussein, including large bronze portrait heads on the roof.

She won first prize in the competition and her work was realized as shown, in the north wing of the Republican Palace, in stone, by other craftsman.

This entire area was home and office to all of the key Ba'ath Party officials and most of the documents and items being sought by the coalition forces.

When the coalition forces rolled into this area on April 9, 2003, most of the occupants simply fled as fast as they could, taking only what they could carry.

As early as April 2003, some of the first tenants had started to occupy office space in the Palace, such as Andrew Goledzinowski (ORHA), of the Australian Foreign Affairs Council, charged with the task of setting up the new Iraqi Ministry of Justice.

[1] During the time that the ORHA was reorganized into the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), new housing areas were assembled in the Palace grounds.

People readily moved their sleeping areas out of the offices and halls and into small two-person units at the back of the Palace towards the river.

Prior to the invasion the palace included only Saddam Hussein's private dining room and kitchenettes for servants.

[1] There was rarely a meal served where the central-south wing of the first floor was not crammed with people, as this was the only dining facility (DFAC) that the coalition forces had set up for a long time.

It primarily served Southern food such as grits, cornbread, hot dogs, pork chops, and sausage.