The Marines' armoured winch took the strain. There was a grinding of gears and for an awful second it seemed as if the armoured vehicle, not Saddam, would buckle.
Then the knees of the statue bent and Saddam was at 90 degrees, then on the ground.
"Down, down, Saddam," said one man, frenziedly interrupting my piece to camera so we should see him use his shoe to repeatedly strike the face of the statue, which had come down a few moments earlier.
Then the knees of the statue bent and Saddam was at 90 degrees, then on the ground.
"Down, down, Saddam," said one man, frenziedly interrupting my piece to camera so we should see him use his shoe to repeatedly strike the face of the statue, which had come down a few moments earlier.
A surprise visit by US President George Bush to Iraq has been overshadowed by an incident in which two shoes were thrown at him during a news conference.
An Iraqi journalist was wrestled to the floor by security guards after he called Mr Bush "a dog" and threw his footwear, just missing the president.
The soles of shoes are considered the ultimate insult in Arab culture.
An Iraqi journalist was wrestled to the floor by security guards after he called Mr Bush "a dog" and threw his footwear, just missing the president.
The soles of shoes are considered the ultimate insult in Arab culture.
Our angry Arabic shoe correspondent has more.
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