Unpublished article for lack of space.

Soran, Iraq - There are no fences in this prisoner of war camp in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. The inmates, former soldiers in Saddam Hussein's armies - or 'guests' as their half-dozen Kurdish guards insist on calling them - lie on blankets just yards from the open road.

Others play dominoes or listen to Iranian radio in their tents. The camp has a soccer ball, and the guards plan to add a satellite
television set once they finish installing electricity. "We don't deal with them as prisoners but defectors," said Amin Nejar,
the head of the military for the district of Erbil.

The food too, according to the inmates, is much better than the rations of the Iraqi army, which is usually soup made from a little oil and tomato paste, and lots of water.

"You could use the bread as a weapon," said a Shiite from Baghdad, who like all the prisoners interviewed didn't give his name for fear of endangering his family. "Here we eat Kebab. We eat eggs. We eat yogurt. We eat rice."

The Kurdish leadership has broadcast promises on television to treat defectors as guests, and their guards clearly don't consider them a threat.

One deserter, a 17-year veteran of the Iraqi army interviewed in Erbil before being transferred to the camp, was seated in a room with two unattended Klashnikovs. Nobody seemed to worry that he would grab one.

Though only 33, his hands were wrinkled like an old man's. His uniform, though small, was still too big for his shrunken frame. Like most, the story of his defection began with American bombing. The bombardment was so heavy, much of his division could not get supplies.

"In our unit we did have food - though only rice and soup - but nobody could go to get it," the veteran said. "You just stayed in your foxhole."

His unit had around 150 soldiers, roughly 30 of which died in the attacks. After their commander was injured and taken away, desertions cut the ranks even further.

The Iraqi authorities had discouraged the troops from using radios or televisions, telling them that they would attract American jets. The soldiers were also told that the Kurds had agreed to send them back should they defect. The penalty for desertion is death, and Kurdish forces taking the town of Khaze near Mosul say they found a paper signed by an Iraqi soldier declaring that he could be killed were he to retreat.

It wasn't until a friend brought an illegal antenna that picked up Turkish and Syrian stations, that the deserter heard the news about the fall of Basra and other cities, and realized that - despite what he had been told - the Iraqis were not winning the war.

"Before the war, we were told that we had everything, even the neutron bomb," he said. "We thought we had good missiles against the airplanes. But after, we found that what Saddam said wasn't true."

After a particularly heavy bombing, he escaped. A Kurdish trader gave him a ride to near the frontier, and he finished the last 12 miles on foot, walking only at night for fear of being discovered until he reached the Kurdish forces.

"I said, 'I'm running from Saddam'," he said. "They asked me, 'Are you hungry?' I said, 'Yes,' and they brought me food."
"If all the Iraqi soldiers know how the Kurds deal with them, all of them will come," he added.

The Kurds too are expecting more. While the camp holds about 125 prisoners, it already has tents for twice as many and bulldozers are clearing land for more.