Saddam Statue Toppled

In this photograph from the streets of Baghdad, a monument to Saddam Hussein is being brought down by U.S. troops before a crowd of Iraqi spectators. In central focus is the curious, shocked expression of the U.S. soldier and the falling statue, being pulled down by a chain noose. In the background is the crowd of onlookers, blurred out, and without focus. It is impossible to tell what they are thinking or feeling from the photograph. The photo uses the contrast between dark and light well, with the soldier and the statue being very dark, and giving the appearance of everything else being whitewashed. The low angle exaggerates the size of the statue and soldier. The statue being pulled down by a metal noose is very metaphorically significant as well. It represents the collapse of the Iraqi dictatorship by the U.S. leadership, perhaps this related to the whitewashing out the Iraqi people's opinion by the United States in it's quest for control over Iraq.