Remember that 55 card deck?

[wrbones]

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0403/041503td1.htm




Daily Briefing


April 15, 2003
Pentagon warns consumers on Iraqi leader playing card sellers

By Richard H.P. Sia, CongressDaily


U.S. defense officials are warning consumers to be wary of anyone selling what is fast becoming the most highly prized souvenir of the war against Iraq: a deck of playing cards depicting the 55 most wanted Iraqi leaders.

Why? Because despite claims by some sellers on the eBay auction Web site that a friendly government contractor discreetly released several thousand decks to them, the Defense Intelligence Agency actually made only 200 decks for distribution to select U.S. forces in Iraq to aid in the hunt for senior Iraqis, a knowledgeable Defense official told CongressDaily.

And to satisfy growing public curiosity and demand for the cards, the full set has been available to download and print for free since last Friday using links appearing on the Web sites of both the Defense Department and U.S. Central Command. The set can be downloaded in different sizes and formats, including a single 11-inch by 22-inch sheet in an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file.

Since Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, a Central Command spokesman, disclosed at a news briefing in Doha, Qatar, that soldiers were given decks of cards showing "key regime leaders who must be pursued and brought to justice," public demand for the cards has soared.

The number of auctions for the decks more than doubled on eBay in the last 24 hours, with more than 190 auction listings on Tuesday, some involving sellers who claim to have more than 2,000 decks for sale. Some sellers, including a few from coalition partners in the war Great Britain and Australia, are offering .pdf files that can be e-mailed to buyers, while others are selling uncut sheets of cards, electronic sets "burned" onto compact discs or purported "casino quality" decks for more than $100 apiece.

DIA itself has been inundated with e-mail requests for the cards on its public Web page. The Central Command site offers a link to its own .pdf file but warns, "The cards are not available for sale or distribution."

"It's definitely a case of 'buyer beware,'" said the Defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He said the agency initially considered hiring a leading playing-card manufacturer to make thousands of decks for distribution in the war zone but chose instead to distribute only 200 decks to troops with "a need to know"—presumably U.S. special operations forces in Iraq.

"We printed them ourselves," the official said, adding that the cards are not plastic-coated and likely would wear out after only a few games of poker. Defense officials said they have no plans for any additional printing runs or any "authorized" release of the card decks for public sale.

[wrbones]

http://www.centcom.mil/Operations/Iraqi%20Freedom/playing_cards.pdf


http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Apr2003/pipc10042003.html

[wrbones]

http://www.greatusaflags.com/



https://www.newsmaxstore.com/nm_mag/cards.cfm


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2170673251&category=36074

[ladileathrnek]

Greenpeace Launches Anti-Nuclear Parody of 'Deck of Cards'

Wednesday, April 30, 2003



GENEVA — In a play on the deck of cards distributed to U.S. troops in Iraq, anti-nuclear campaigners on Wednesday issued their own most-wanted list -- with President Bush replacing Saddam Hussein as the ace of spades.

"It's an exact copy (of the U.S. deck) in terms of the design and layout," said William Peden, spokesman for the disarmament campaign at Greenpeace (search).

But while the U.S. cards were meant to help soldiers capture America's most-wanted Iraqi leaders, the Greenpeace deck is meant to focus attention on the dangers posed by nuclear arsenals, Peden told The Associated Press.

Campaigners are handing out 600 decks to delegates at a two-week meeting on the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (search). The conference precedes a review of the 188-nation accord in 2005.

"We haven't had any negative comments -- not even from the U.S. delegation," said Peden. "They're such a hot item."

Along with photographs of Bush and seven other leaders are details of the number of nuclear weapons their countries possess. The ace of spades notes that Bush has around 10,600 weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is the ace of hearts in the Greenpeace deck, with around 18,000 nuclear weapons.

French President Jacques Chirac is the ace of clubs, while Britain's Tony Blair is the ace of diamonds. The kings feature the leaders of China, Pakistan, India and Israel -- all countries with nuclear weapons.

Most of the rest of the cards contain information about nuclear weapons. The two of diamonds notes that 128,000 nuclear weapons have been built worldwide since 1945.

"The idea is to provide delegates with something that's not a boring piece of paper," Peden said. "It's something interesting and innovative that they can actually learn from -- so it's an educational tool as well."

"It's actually being used by delegates in their speeches and they love it because it's full of short snappy facts about the situation of nuclear weapons around the world."

Under the nonproliferation treaty, the declared nuclear powers of the 1960s -- the United States, China, France, Russia and Britain -- were meant to reduce their arsenals, halt the spread of nuclear weapons and ensure nuclear technology was used only for peaceful purposes. However, the accord has failed to stop other nations from becoming nuclear powers.

In 2000, during the last review of the nonproliferation treaty, participants at a conference at the United Nations (search) identified 13 steps for wiping out nuclear weapons, including a moratorium on nuclear weapons testing, reductions in tactical nuclear weapons and greater candor by the nuclear powers in reporting on their nuclear arsenals.

Greenpeace is also considering a nuclear-themed version of the party game Twister, Peden said. "It'll have 13 steps. We'd like to get all the delegates playing it."