There is a very good reason for destroying the statues and images on the spot rather than preserving them. Saddam Hussein has been terrorizing these people for thirty years, and (according to several articles I have read) a lot of Iraqis believe he isn’t done yet. They believe he is hiding and will resurface once the Americans are gone. They are still afraid, and who can blame them?
Carting these images off for safe keeping is bound to ignite rumors that they are being preserved for his comeback: “See, they’re saving the statues. What for, if not his return?”
On another note, did you hear that Hussein’s sons have changed their names to go into hiding?
They’re now Boogay and Amscray.
Look on the bright side, Lissa, there aren’t enough Americans or Iraqis in the world to destroy all of the paintings, statues and posters of that man. Good grief, but he really liked the way he looked.
And in related news: At the Al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad, Saddam had installed a tile image of President Bush the elder – on the floor, so that guests walked over it and wiped their feet on it, a severe insult in Arab culture. U.S. soldiers tore it up and replaced it with an image of Saddam.
Saddam wasn’t just a megalomaniac. He was a childish megalomaniac.
CNN reported this morning that the Iraqi National Museum has been looted. Thousands of priceless artifacts and treasures are gone. I am deeply saddened and disturbed by what has happened. I can only hope that someday, some of these cultural treasures will be found and returned.
**Satisfying Andy Licious, ** do you think it’s childish that we installed Saddam’s picture? Wouldn’t it have been more mature just to tear up Bush’s picture and fill in the hole with regular tiles?
The museum looting is a genuine tragedy. These were world treasures.
**Satisfying Andy Licious, ** do you think it’s childish that we installed Saddam’s picture? Wouldn’t it have been more mature just to tear up Bush’s picture and fill in the hole with regular tiles? **
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You can call me Andy.
I don’t know if they exactly “installed” a picture of Saddam, and certainly it was more likely on the scale of taking an existing poster or painting and putting it there. If anyone has any info, please share.
No, I don’t think that was a childish thing for the troops to do. It won’t be permanent, and it’s not an act of state as it was with Saddam. It’s more like scribbling “Kilroy was here.”
I’m reposting to clear up the quotes. :smack: Preview, preview, preview.
That is a tragedy because these were treasures of the world from some of the oldest civilizations on earth.
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I don’t know if they exactly “installed” a picture of Saddam, and certainly it was more likely on the scale of taking an existing poster or painting and putting it there. If anyone has any info, please share.
No, I don’t think that was a childish thing for the troops to do. It won’t be permanent (the hole will be filled in, I’m sure) and it’s not an act of state as it was with Saddam. It’s more like scribbling “Kilroy was here.”
Are we sure that these are the real statues that are being destoyed ?. They might be lookalikes. The real ones could be hiding somewhere in a deep bunker !.
