Historic Moment or Staged Publicity Shot?

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"One of the ' HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-04-09-statue-flag_x.htm"
target="_blank">most memorable images of the war' is created when U.S. troops pull down the statue of Saddam Hussein in Fardus Square. ... The entire event is being hailed as an equivalent of the Berlin Wall falling... but even a quick glance of the long-shot photo shows something more akin to a carefully constructed media event tailored for the television cameras." Meanwhile, BBC journalist Paul Wood reports that the US flag that was placed over the face of Saddam's statue "was the flag that was flying over the Pentagon on September 11. For a lot of the American marines, they think this war is all about defeating terrorism, they will tell you that over and over again. There is also a connection in the minds of the American public between the regime of Saddam and what happened on September 11, and apparently the flag that was draped over this face was flying over the Pentagon when the plane crashed into it." O'Dwyer's PR Daily called the photo-op a " PR bonanza" for the Pentagon.