Wednesday, April 09, 2003

Extraordinary scenes from Baghdad. I am watching two blokes trying to tie a threadbare rope around a giant statue of Saddam Hussein, intending to topple it. Will the rope break? How will they pull the other end of the rope? Will the American tanks help? Currently, Saddam's standing there with a giant noose round his neck. Now the people are eagerly taking turns with a sledgehammer, trying to smash the statue's pedestal.

It makes for exciting TV, and is an incredibly significant moment. Quite literally a tipping point. Not since the toppling of the Berlin Wall have we seen anything quite so historically symbolic live on TV. Will the statue, like the wall, be broken up into pieces and sold to tourists? Bring me the head of Saddam Hussein!

No comments: