Iraqi artist paints Rumsfeld gloating over ruins of Iraq
[EXCERPT] Rumsfeld is depicted leaning back reading papers, with combat-boot-clad feet propped up on a ruined building. Beside him is a weathered image of the Lion of Babylon -- potent symbol of Iraq's illustrious past -- atop a ruined plinth. The US official is surrounded by whirling bits of paper that morph into birds and fly off into the distance. The artist's image is striking and it was conceived in anger -- not just over the occupation of Iraq but also over what Mohsen sees as the humiliation of a nation that once taught mankind how to write.
HUMINT: Iraqis were not allowed to vent frustration under Saddam. The humiliated internalized their grief or were crushed by Saddam's dictatorship. I really like this story on a number of levels. First, the image created by the artist is both passionate and moving. It is the most articulate example of the liberated lashing out at the liberator I've witnessed. The transition to freedom for Iraqis (fraught with insecurity) is a truly traumatic experience. WWII comparisons with the Iraq War - between liberator and liberated - are off the mark. Europeans invaded by Germans were temporarily oppressed. Iraqis have lived for decades under oppression. Iraqis are slowly waking up to their own abilities, testing the limits, doing exactly what free people should do. Unfortunately, the country lacks stability, and if it slips back into another dictatorship all of this pain they are experiencing now will validate their sense of victimhood. They will not mature as a society and begin to recognize who is to blame for their condition and understand how they can rectify the situation themselves. This painting represents healing. In a decade or so, there will instead be statues of honor...
