Bye bye Statue!!!

[Melman]

Has anyone been watching tv this morning? The HUGE statue of saddam has just been pulled down. The Iraqi people beat at the base with sledge hammars for quite a while and several climbed the statue and put a rope around his neck. One of our vehicles rolled into view. They used an extension on the tank(?) to put some of our men at the head of the statue. An American glad was draped across his head temporarily. They moved the rope into a better position. The next thing that happened was the vehicle backing up....down came the statue!! One more tug and the statue fell to the ground. The news reports said this was the single most shown image in the history of television.

Unfortunately, I'm watching it on a teeny tiny MSNBC Media Player screen....

KerBLAM!!!!!

[HealthyinMN]

I've been watching it live, it is simply amazing what our troops have accomplished in such a short time.

[JackieO]

I had to tear myself away from the tv to get to the office this morning, but not before seeing some Marines climb the pedestal. Listened to the radio on the way to work and heard about the Iraqis with the sledgehammers....thanks for the update!

[funnybone]

I've got Fox News on, so I was glancing at it. I sure hope the people over there can truly be free!

[Peggy]

A truly symbolic gesture. A picture really is worth a thousand words. I do hope that they will see noticible improvements in their lives very soon.

Peggy

[Hoosier65]

I have been glued to the TV. It was emotional for me so I can only imagine what it must have felt like to the people there. It makes one stop and think about how we so often take our freedom for granted. I think I will look at things a little different now. I'm so proud to be an American!

[Zinnia]

Originally posted by Peggy
A truly symbolic gesture. A picture really is worth a thousand words. I do hope that they will see noticible improvements in their lives very soon.

Peggy

Well said Peggy.
:) Zinnia

[beejayw1]

Check this out for more photos:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030407/168/3qcn9.html

[Molli526]

Have to say, that was fun to watch those men working on getting that statue down.

[valchemist]

Ding dong the witch is dead!!!! :)

(if not literally dead, he is dead for all intents and purposes.)

[Beth]

Can you imagine the people who have lived in fear of him for so long -- even aweek ago, now dragging the head of that statue around in the streets and hitting it in their shoes? We must be sure that Saddam is never allowed to return.

I heard a quote from someone who suggested that Saddam and his cronies should be put in cages at the zoo and the admission charges used to rebuild Iraq.

[RebeccaT]

Truly an amazing sight. I just hope that the relief workers and aid can get in there soon, and that they can restore power and water to the country ASAP... it's hard to feel free when there's no clean water to drink.

As Thoman Friedman said in today's NYT:
"America broke Iraq; now America owns Iraq, and it owns the primary responsibility for normalizing it. If the water doesn't flow, if the food doesn't arrive, if the rains don't come and if the sun doesn't shine, it's now America's fault. We'd better get used to it, we'd better make things right, we'd better do it soon, and we'd better get all the help we can get."

[BarbaraL]

My "work neighbor" saw a report where our soldiers found a torture chamber. Some of the prisoners they rescued have been imprisoned for years; one man's father and brothers were tortured and killed. How can people be so evil? Hopefully, the Iraqi people will now be free.

[pugmu71]

So powerful seeing the moment signifying the long awaited liberation of another country. I think our military has shown the world that not only are we a true super power, but we are also the most compassionate, freedom loving people on the face of the earth. Can you imagine the thoughts and the sheer force of hearing their own hearts beating that those young men must have felt when they brought down that statue?? True American heroes!!! Let freedom ring!!!

[JenB]

I was watching some of the coverage while I was home at lunch. I can't imagine what it must be like to celebrate after so much oppression. Has anyone else noticed that whenever they show an Iraqi hitting a picture or statue of Saddam, they've been using a shoe. After seeing this 3 or 4 times I've starte wondering if this is just coincidence or is this some kind of cultural insult?

[Luv to Cook]

Jen,

I believe it is a cultural insult. I think I saw it on cnn or something. Goes to show how much the people of Iraq hate him too.

Anita

[VictoriaL]

I remember hearing that the way Pres. Bush I (during the Gulf war 10 years ago) pronounced Hussein's name as "SAD-um" was an insult because the word, in that particular pronounciation, meant "shoemaker" or "shoeshine boy" or something similar. I wonder, if that is correct, whether the shoes had something to do with it... just a random thought...

[Beth]

I heard some of the folks on CNN talking about the shoe thing -- it is apparently the greatest insult to hit someone with a shoe -- a kind of lower than dirt thing. She didn't explain why, but one of the reporters talking about it was an Arab familiar with the custom.

[jmarie]

Looking back on history.
Joyce

[SandyM]

Originally posted by jmarie
Looking back on history.
Joyce

Huh?? :confused:

[Peggy]

Originally posted by SandyM
Huh?? :confused:

Ditto...:confused:

Peggy

[jmarie]

This was the very last thread that you could access from a couple of months ago. As I read it, I thought of how high everyone's emotions were running then as opposed to now. And thinking "My, how things have changed."

I naievely thought we would go in and gget rid of Saddam and things would go well from that point on.