The regrets of the man who brought down Saddam (statue)

[kskiska]

His hands were bleeding and his eyes filled with tears as, four years ago, he slammed a sledgehammer into the tiled plinth that held a 20ft bronze statue of Saddam Hussein. Then Kadhim al-Jubouri spoke of his joy at being the leader of the crowd that toppled the statue in Baghdad's Firdous Square. Now, he is filled with nothing but regret.

The moment became symbolic across the world as it signalled the fall of the dictator. Wearing a black vest, Mr al-Jubouri, an Iraqi weightlifting champion, pounded through the concrete in an attempt to smash the statue and all it meant to him. Now, on the fourth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, he says: "I really regret bringing down the statue. The Americans are worse than the dictatorship. Every day is worse than the previous day."

(snip)

Yet he now says he would prefer to be living under Saddam than under US occupation. He said: "The devil you know better than the devil you don't. We no longer know friend from foe. The situation is becoming more dangerous. It's not getting better at all. People are poor and the prices are going higher and higher."

Saddam, he says, "was like Stalin. But the occupation is proving to be worse".

more…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2037220,00.html

[merh]

1. and the righties and neo-cons will call him an ingrate.

how dare he complain, we brought him democracy :sarcasm:

:cry:

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. "Let Freedom Reign!"

[TomInTib]

4. See #3

No kidding..

Tom

[TomInTib]

3. And Harlan Crow (Dallas) bought the statue.

And I know it.

He told me at a party back in '03 that he was going to bring it back to the US when the situation "cooled down" (his words).

Well, guess what, Harlan...?

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

6. Well, he can grind it up...

And use it, in suspension, for a series of high colonics.

Texan...sigh...I hate like the devil to say it, but...it figures.

[TomInTib]

7. I was thinkng about going direct...

right up his ass with the statue, intact.

You would just not believe this guy.

I have been to his house.

And I have seen Charlemagne's hair.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

9. Charlemagne's hair?

Whassup wid dat? Does the guy rob graves, too?

Oh, excuse me, that would be called "Exhuming important historical artifacts", right?

Or, perhaps, "Being a ghoul". Take your pick.

[TomInTib]

10. You would not believe, T_S...

but Beth is raising hell with me for spending time on this while there is music in the house.

Will you PM this to me so that I can fill you in on the details?

Tom

later...

[tech3149]

5. I remember seeing an article a few years ago

that had photographic comparison of Firdos Square and INC (Iraqi National Congress) exiles de-plaining at Bagdad airport. Most of those seen at the airport were also in the Firdos Square pictures. I don't doubt that locals were there or that this story represents the feelings of the locals. I just try and take it all with a grain of salt.

[stevedeshazer]

15. Remember this?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2842.htm

[IndianaGreen]

8. The Americans are worse than the dictatorship. Every day is worse than the previous day."

I really feel bad for Mr. al-Jabouri, and I think his analysis on the situation is right on target. Unfortunately for him, for us, for the Iraqis, and for our troops, our Congress won't defund the war or impeach those responsible for it.

FUBAR all around!

[truthisfreedom]

11. "They'll greet us with flowers."

"We're bringing freedom to Iraq."

[arewenotdemo]

12. Dude was none too bright to begin with

"The weightlifter had also been a mechanic and had felt the full weight of Saddam's regime when he was sent to Abu Ghraib prison by the Iraqi leader's son, Uday, after complaining that he had not been paid for fixing his motorcycle."

I suspect that most Iraqis (with functioning brain stems) were more than glad to do any work for the Husseins free of charge.

[progressoid]

13. He just doesn't understand how freedom works.

[The Count]

14. Here's the photo with the tanks:

[oblivious]

19. And the Guardian article says "leader of the crowd". Some 'crowd'.

And the only pic in the article shows a close up instead of the reality yours shows.

The author of the article was embedded with British troops in the invasion.

[rman]

16. so he didn't notice the whole thing was staged?

[Javaman]

17. remove saddam only to replace him with a pol pot like chaos...

the educated are either leaving or being killed. instead of an agrarian society it is secular. instead of being killed for being an intellectual, morals and ethics are a crime

[cornfedyank]

18. hands bleeding ? i don't think so.

i remember that morning. I thought " How symbolic. I think I'll watch." I made popcorn and before the butter was melted, they were backing up the tank hauler.
There has been tons of blood spilled in iraq, but not by them at the statue that day.

[MethuenProgressive]

20. I saw this on TV, very moving story,