Analysis of two photos: Toppling of Saddam Hussein

Student Ian Washburn wrote an analysis of two photos broadcast during the toppling of a Saddam Hussein statue in Baghdad in 2003.

The two photos tell two different stories about what happened in Firdos Square in Baghdad in April 2003. At the time the event occurred, I was stationed nearby in Baghdad. Major media outlets, including BBC, CNN, Fox News, and others, ran images like the one at the top—showing a cheering, chanting, supportive crowd. The US government itself shared some photos from a similar perspective.

Later, however, other images from the day emerged on the Web, including images like the one at the bottom, which some bloggers and commentators used as proof in claiming that the toppling of the statue was a staged “media event.” What is clear in these pictures is that US tanks were stationed at each exit into and out of the area and that the crowd was pushed close to the statue and photos were shot primarily from behind the crowd, to create an illusion of a very big gathering (estimates indicate that about a hundred Iraqi citizens were there for the toppling of the statue).

The event did happen, and the event was important in the war against terror. However, the ways that the photographs were taken and presented tell a different story about how the events happened that day.

Toppling of Saddam Hussein statue: Two views