News: Who Pulled Down Saddam?

Although this story has been circulating for awhile, I think it’s one of the most telling examples of media manipulation in recent years. At the same time, it is incredibly revealing of the Bush Administration’s heavy-handed role in Iraq.

This first image is one that was distributed world-wide showing the supposedly spontaneous toppling of Saddam’s statue by a hugh gathering of Iraqi citizens in Baghdad’s Fardus Square.

This second photo, however– taken from the Palestine Hotel–reveals that that square was blocked off by the U.S. military; only a small number of people were assembled; and a U.S. tank pulled down the statue in an action that was primarily choreographed.