Her Majesty’s not-so-secret service

Are Bond references in British campaign sly digs at Saddam?

THE BRITISH EFFORT has been dubbed Operation James, after the British fiction and film spy James Bond. What’s more, various Iraq targets have been named after characters in the Bond films.
Two targets outside of Basra were code-named Pussy and Galore after a character in “Goldfinger.”
A third target was called Blofeld, Bond’s arch enemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
Another was called Goldfinger after the 1964 flick, and yet another was dubbed Connery, after the actor who is best associated with the Bond character.

The whimsical monikers are said to be a nod to the wry British sense of humor and designed to keep troop morale high.
But one source says there may be an ulterior motive to the Bond references.
According to a lengthy profile of Saddam Hussein in “India Today,” the Iraqi president is a rabid fan of James Bond films. Says the source, “It could be that naming Iraqi targets after various Bond characters is intended as a slap in Saddam’s face.”

(Ashley Pearson MSNBC)