Iraqi gold

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, several news stories surfaced about US troops discovering large stashes of Iraqi gold and cash. The final status of all treasure found was not always clear. The reports seemed to parallel the plotline from the fictional 1999 Gulf War movie Three Kings.

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News stories: timeline

• $900,000 cash stolen 4th Battalion, 64th Infantry Regiment, Baghdad, reported April 24, 2003

• 2000 gold bars 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Al-Qaim, reported May 23, 2003. Official Army press release

• Gold storage by 119th Military Police Company at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, reported May 24, 2003.

• 999 gold bars 173rd Airborne Brigade, Kirkuk, reported May 27, 2003. Official Army press release for this one. The gold was flown to the 336th Finance Command in Kuwait.

• 1183 gold bars 173rd Airborne Brigade, Kirkuk, reported June 8, 2003

• 1,071 gold bars found during Operation Desert Scorpion, reported June 29, 2003

• 4450 gold bars in US custody as of July 14, 2003.

• 1000 gold bars in oil truck 1st Battalion, 4th Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Al Hillah, reported July 27, 2003.

• 1 gold bar stolen British soldier, Basra, reported March 15, 2004.

Where it went?

Included in a July 14, 2003 White House war budget report to the US Congress, is a statement that a sample of some of the "gold-colored metal bars" recovered in Iraq was tested and were "comprised of (sic) approximately 64 percent copper and 34 percent zinc" and are "most likely melted-down shell casings."

Soldiers involved in the seizures find this difficult to believe, based on the hefty weight of the bars they handled.

The report mentioned "All the bars currently located at Camp Arifjan are being sent to Baghdad, where they most likely will be stored within one of the Ministry of Industry and Materials facilities...".