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-   -   Statue Toppling... (https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/86739-statue-toppling.html)

steamchicken 9th Apr 2003 23:54

Statue Toppling...
 
As most of us have probably seen, the huge Saddam in Fardus Square has been toppled by a mob with a little help from their US Marine friends in an armoured engineer vehicle. Surprisingly given the chaos, no-one seems to have got under it! As a small PPRuNe tactics exercise, how would you go about removing a giant dictator statue? Marks for: Spectacular effect, Economy of Effort, Originality, and of course artistic expression.

The crowd started out by climbing it, then put a rope about its neck. Someone fetched a sledgehammer, and a huge man (I mean huge, this one hadn't been going short of scoff) began whacking the plinth. Then some utter arssestarted pulling on the rope - as if trying to drop it on his own head. Then Mr. Combat Engineer arrived. Main problem was getting the crowd out of the way, and getting the towrope high enough on his neck to get the necessary leverage. Once on the floor the mob went wild, I haven't seen anything like it since I was in the Bradford race riot...

(edit to correct square)

curmudgeon 10th Apr 2003 01:23

Tell the French that its a statue of a Greenpeace activist.

They'll soon send someone round to blow it up.

cur

T_richard 10th Apr 2003 01:31

The guy whacking at the base with a sledge hammer was a monster, however from my vantage point it looked like all he was doing was shattering the finish coat of cement. I thouht I saw a lot of rebar in that base. If not for the Marines, that thing would still be standing

SOMAT 10th Apr 2003 02:29

Send the UN Security Council/ Anti-War crowd round there; they'll argue/talk it down; you'll see; It will only take 20 years!!



Tread softly, for you tread on my dreams..

MadsDad 10th Apr 2003 03:30

Saw the big bloke (looked like a refugee from the local 'club bouncers' society) whacking the plinth. Don't know if you noticed but loads of people borrowed the hammer for a go.

Did feel a bit sorry for the bloke on the other side of the ladder helping someone up who got a faceful of cement chips (suddenly clutched his eye and bent over).

Not really funny I know with everything else going on but it's those little moments everyone remembers.

sprucemoose 10th Apr 2003 05:14

Must pop up to Camden Market in a few weeks to buy some authentic 'Saddam statue' concrete fragments! The big fella would have been tw@tting that plinth for a fortnight if the engineers hadn't stepped in.

Just a shame one of the guys screwed up by putting the Stars & Stripes over Saddam's head - lots of bad coverage in the region for a minute's over enthusiasm. Very interesting reaction from the CENTCOM press guys - they were obviously watching the same images as me while I was on the phone to one of them, and there was a great roar of "No!" from the entire room when they showed the flag going up! Remember you're a liberator, son!

Following the mighty lead of phoney Tony (quote on BBC this evening), I think we should destroy Saddam's statues with "the scales of fear falling from the eyes of the Iraqi people". What the hell kind of metaphor is that, mate?!

Silver Tongued Cavalier 10th Apr 2003 06:17

Saw a great banner today being held up by some jubilant Iraqis with a message to all the western peace activists which have been in Baghdad in recent weeks, obviously judged by many folk to be supporters of Saddam.

"Go home the umansheilds, you U.S. w*nk*rs!!"

Priceless! Did anyone else see it?

Vortex what...ouch! 10th Apr 2003 06:55

Yep saw that. The last bit was not there initially. It was added, only speculation here, after consultation with some of the marines. Have to say it made me grin.;)

Woff1965 10th Apr 2003 07:37

Killing statues
 
I would use large quantities of thermite.

Not only would Saddam go up in puff of smoke, he would also go out in a blaze of glory.

Wiley 10th Apr 2003 12:59

To repeat what I said on another thread, I believe that one marine who draped the US flag over SH's face did more damage to the US post war peace effort than the USAF did to Baghdad.

The Arab media will replay that scene over and over again to prove what every Arab already 'knows' of US intentions.

tony draper 10th Apr 2003 14:16

Apparently a lot of Arab TV channels did not show those scenes, the idea that fellow arabs could embrace or cheer Americans caused them acute discomfort.

BEagle 10th Apr 2003 14:37

I understand that it was a symbolic gesture to rub Saddam's face in the actual flag which was flying over the Pentagon on 11 September.

Which was considerably less rude than something a chap in robes was seen to rub in the face of one of Uncle S's portraits on ITV!

tony draper 10th Apr 2003 14:41

I wonder if the Marines are available to do a similar thing to our the Angel of the North. ;)

Evo 10th Apr 2003 16:22

I liked the BBC's on-the-spot interview with a US marine:

BBC hack: So what's happening?

Marine: F*ck. That f*cking motherf*cking f*ck is f*cking...

BBC hack: um...

<quick cut back to studio>

BBC anchor: um... sorry about that

Tigs2 10th Apr 2003 16:26

We were told that all the Iraqi's were armed with guns etc. Did you see the chap on the news yesterday holding up a picture of Saddam, he did not shoot it nor did he attack it with a knife, he hit it with - A SLIPPER. come on in Dubya, we have found the weapons of mass destruction - a slipper ( could almost be a sketch from Monty Python and the Holy Grail!)

tony draper 10th Apr 2003 16:37

Apparently hitting someone with a slipper or your shoe is a grave insult in Iraq, same here, but we use the nut. ;)

Tigs2 10th Apr 2003 16:40

Tony

Thats it then. It should have been in the budget. Take away the SA80 and the Challenger and arm our troops with 'a Slipper'. That'll show them.

moggie 10th Apr 2003 16:54

I would use some of Saddam's WMD to destroy those statues.

Oooops, we haven't actually found any yet, have we?

Pete O'Tewbe 10th Apr 2003 17:01

We should let Railtrack (or Son of Railtrack) assume responsibility for the upkeep of the statue. Give it six months and it will be reduced to its component stones.

steamchicken 10th Apr 2003 18:49

Abu Dhabi TV showed it all in glorious techni. Does anyone here agree with me that yer man with the sledge looked so well-fed that Field Security (or whatever the US Marine equivalent is) ought to have a word? After all, if you're going to change sides you might as well show enthusiasm...

I'm not sure about that banner though - looked to me rather like a Human Shield banner reading "Go Home US ******s!". If so they looked a little isolated. Robert Fisk reported in today's Indy that a US officer in the 3 Bat, 4th Marines - the man with the ex-Pentagon flag - was insulted by an American peacenik girlie on arrival in Fardus Square, so they are still wandering about. Wonder what they'll do now?


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