FALL OF SADAAM!!!!!!!
Crowds cheer as a statue of Saddam Hussein falls.
Saddam statue toppled in central Baghdad
Wednesday, April 9, 2003 Posted: 12:45 PM EDT (1645 GMT)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqis danced and waved the country's pre-1991 flag in central Baghdad's Firdos Square after a U.S. Marine armored recovery vehicle helped topple the square's huge statue of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
The statue -- the height of about four men -- was one of the symbols of Saddam's rule over Iraq and came down about 6:50 p.m. Wednesday (10:50 a.m. ET).
Iraqis had begun tearing down portraits of Saddam and throwing shoes -- a grave insult in the Arab world -- and chipping away at the base of the statue with sledgehammers after a column of Marines advanced into the square Wednesday afternoon.
A small group of men climbed the statue's pedestal and attached a rope around its neck. Shortly afterward, Marines backed an armored recovery vehicle up to the monument and attached a chain to the statue, which was erected last April to mark Saddam's 65th birthday.
About the same time, a Marine draped the American flag over the head of the statue -- a gesture that drew a muted reaction from the crowd, gasps in a Pentagon briefing room and anger from a commentator on the Arab news network Al Arabiya.
The crowd was happier to see the Marines take down the U.S. flag moments later and hang a pre-1991 Gulf War Iraqi flag around the statue's neck. That flag also was removed before the statue was pulled down.
Several shots were fired at the Marines as they prepared to topple the statue. The shots sent Marines temporarily scrambling for armored personnel carriers as they sought out the source of the gunfire, but in a short time they were back at work on the monument.
White House urges caution at 'historic moment'
Fleischer: 'The war is not over'
By Sean Loughlin
CNN Washington Bureau
Wednesday, April 9, 2003 Posted: 4:42 PM EDT (2042 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Three weeks into a war that divided Europe and raised questions at home, the Bush administration on Wednesday savored the images of jubilant Iraqis celebrating the crumbling of Saddam Hussein decades-long grip on power.
Re: FALL OF SADAAM!!!!!!!
The landmark statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad's Firdos Square is brought down Wednesday by Iraqis and U.S. Marines.
Celebrations and bullets in Baghdad
Iraq's U.N. ambassador: 'The game is over'
Wednesday, April 9, 2003 Posted: 5:18 PM EDT (2118 GMT)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- As residents of Baghdad celebrated the apparent fall of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Wednesday cautioned that portions of Iraq "are still hotly contested and will be for some time."
Re: FALL OF SADAAM!!!!!!!
God Bless America and all freedom loving countires, Iraq now joining the list. It warms your heart to see Iraqis so happy to be tasting freedom and the end to an evil dictator! And after me falling under the media's spell, thinking the Iraqi people were against America...we see dancing in the streets, Iraqi citizens who can hardly believe they can live in peace & freedom.
Re: FALL OF SADAAM!!!!!!!
It was indeed a beautiful site to see. I guess America isn't the big bad war monger everyone thought. Funny how France is pedding FAST to get on the USA bandwagon now. Hey France, take a hike.
FALL OF SADAAM!!!!!!!
O & A ALWAYS WIN IN THE END
Angels and ministers of grace defend us! 
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