Four Years Ago Today, Saddam Statue Was Pulled Down...

[Hissyspit]

On April 9, 2003, US tanks rolled into Baghdad’s central square and a bronze statue of Saddam Hussein was pulled down by Marines, albeit with some difficulty...

http://english.eastday.com/eastday/englishedition/node20676/userobject1ai2749649.html

4 years after Saddam statue fall, Iraq still in chaos
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9/4/2007 9:42

Four years after a statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled in Baghdad's Firdous Square, Iraqis are still living in chaos where they have to bear daily bombings and sectarian violence as well as decapitated or tortured bodies.

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On April 9, 2003, the U.S. forces broke into central Baghdad and pulled down a large statue of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in Firdous Square who was executed last December, raising hopes for many Iraqis that it would bring a bright future for them.

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Abu Samir, a 50-year-old teacher in Baghdad, said he was happy when Saddam's statue was toppled but now he was filled with nothing but regret. "At that moment, I saw the statue as a symbol of dictatorship and tyranny. Now I want to say the Americans and those who came with them are much worse than Saddam," Samir said.

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Instead of the statue, a monument symbolizing freedom was set up. But Dafir said most of Baghdad residents know nothing about its meaning except for some American soldiers who come to take pictures... On Sunday, thousands of Iraqis swarmed to the holy city of Najaf for a big demonstration against the U.S. presence in Iraq on Monday that was called by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

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