Hands of Victory

A telling image as the U.S. military withdraws from Iraqi cities in favor of large and discrete operating bases.

The symmetry between human and sculpted hands draws a (historical) parallel between America and BushCo., with its imperial aims, and the hands and designs of the dictator — the monument actually conceived by Saddam Hussein.

(image: Karim Kadim/A.P. caption: A U.S. Army soldier from the 37th Engineer Company is seen at the Crossed Swords monument in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, June 24, 2009)