Saddam’s statue: the bitter regrets of Iraq’s sledgehammer man
Source: The Guardian Unlimited
Kadom al-Jabouri became famous when he took his hammer to the dictator’s statue. Now he wishes he had never done it
Ten years ago, Kadom al-Jabouri became the face of the fall of Baghdad. Pictured with a sledgehammer while attempting to demolish the huge statue of Saddam Hussein in the city’s Firdos Square, Jabouri’s jubilant act of destruction made front pages around the world.
For Tony Blair and President George W Bush, the image was a godsend, encapsulating the delight of a grateful nation that their hated dictator had been ousted. The US networks showed the statue’s fall for hours on end.