This statue currently stands outside the Iraqi palace, now home to the 4th Infantry division. It will eventually be shipped home and put in the memorial museum in Fort Hood , Texas, The statue was created by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad. Kalat was so grateful for the Americans liberation of his country; He melted 3 of the heads of the fallen Saddam and made the statue as a memorial to the American soldiers and their fallen warriors. Kalat worked on this memorial night and day for several months. To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms.
Do you know why we don't hear about this in the news? The media avoids it because it does not have the shock effect, but in actuality its not true after doing research that Kalat was not grateful for the american soldiers.
I found out on About.com - Urban Legends
It is true that Iraqi artist Khalid Alussy (also referred to as "Kalat" in some news reports) fashioned the pair of bronze statues shown in the preceding photos. It is also true that the sculpture is made of bronze obtained by melting down statues of Saddam Hussein, and that it memorializes members of the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division slain in battle in Iraq,
It is not true, however, that the artist created the work because he is "grateful" to American soldiers. According to a March 9, 2004 article in the Wall Street Journal, Kalat/Khalid, who lost an uncle in a U.S. rocket attack, is "harshly critical" of the United States and its actions in Iraq. He only accepted the project, which was conceived by officers of the 4th Infantry Division, because he was handsomely paid.
"I made the statues of Saddam — even though I didn't want to — because I needed money for my family and to finish my education," he told the Journal. "And I decided to make statues for the Americans for the exact same reasons."
The sculpture was moved from Tikrit, Iraq to its permanent home at Fort Hood, Texas in February 2004.
2 comments:
I came upon this post while searching for information about the same statue story (or rather yet another version of it).
Thank you. It is hard to insist on dreary truth in place of sweet, sweet glurge, isn't it?
Where else did you find this and was the story accurate
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