A statue of the abolitionist Frederick Douglass in Rochester, New York, was knocked clean off its base. Protesters in Madison, Wisconsin, tore down the Forward statue, celebrating women’s rights, and one of an abolitionist. In the US, Confederate statues had long been a focus for public protest, but soon statues of national icons and progressive figures were attacked too. Some feared that this was becoming a frenzy. He continued: “The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder … It is a fight for the security of our nation and the peace of the world, and we will accept no outcome but victory.” This justification for war was hotly disputed at the time, and has been ever since.
#US MILITARY VIDEO OF SADDAM HUSSEIN CAPTURE FREE#
President George W Bush claimed that the aims of the operation were clear: “to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people”.
It was led by the US at the head of a “coalition of the willing”, including troops from Australia, Poland and the UK. Operation Iraqi Freedom, as it was called by those running it, began on 20 March 2003. The story of Saddam’s statue shows both the possibilities, and the limits, of making a myth. During the invasion of Iraq, the pulling down of a statue was also an attempt to create a story about history.
But was that the truth? Putting up a statue is an attempt to create a story about history. It was an image relayed across the world as a symbol of victory for the American-led coalition, and liberation for the Iraqi people.
T he abiding image of the Iraq war in 2003 was the toppling of a statue of the country’s dictator, Saddam Hussein.
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