Army report confirms Psy-ops staged Saddam statue toppling – The NewStandard

by Jon Elmer

July 3, 2004 –
An internal Army study of the war in Iraq has confirmed that the
infamous toppling of the statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square in
central Baghdad on April 9, 2003 was stage-managed by American troops
and not a spontaneous reaction by Iraqis. According to the study, a
Marine colonel first decided to topple the statue, and an Army
psychological operations unit turned the event into a propaganda
moment.

At one point during the stunt Marines draped the statue of Saddam
Hussein with an American flag. When the crowd reacted negatively to
that gesture, the US flag was replaced with a pre-1990 Iraqi flag,
missing the words “God is Great,” by a sergeant from the psychological
operations unit. The Marines brought in cheering Iraqi children in
order to make the scene appear authentic, the study said.

Allegations that the event was staged were made in April of last
year, mostly by opponents of the war, but were ignored or ridiculed by
the US government and most visible media outlets.

Army report confirms Psy-ops staged Saddam statue toppling – The NewStandard