OK, I have had it about up to here with these hoax e-mails that are being sent around constantly. Particularly offensive is the political propaganda sent to me by right-wing fanatics who apparently don’t have the slightest clue how to use Google. The latest of these precious e-mails included the picture to the left, and the following accompanying story:
THIS IS GREAT! and something every American should see. What is it? See below below the photo……….. Have a great day. God bless.
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? Because it is heart warming and praise worthy. The media avoids it because it does not have the shock effect that a flashed breast or controversy of politics does. But we can do something about it. We can pass this along to as many people as we can in honor of all our brave military who is making a difference. Thank you!!
A wonderful sentiment, right? And an absolutely beautiful statue. The only problem is that the story is a hoax, and the real story is printed here, from the normally conservative Wall Street Journal. I’ll bet they had no idea the pictures would eventually be used in yet another mass e-mailed lie.
According to the article, “Officers from the U.S. Army’s 4th Infantry Division commissioned a life-size bronze sculpture of the tableau to honor dozens of troops the unit has lost in its 11 months in Iraq.” Got that? Commissioned. What does that mean? That means the artist, whose name is actually Khalid Alussy (not Kalat — they can’t even get the poor guy’s name right), did not do this as a “thank you” gesture. He was PAID for it. How much? $8,000. When he was asked to do another statue, he asked for $10K. Like the article says, “he learned capitalism mighty fast.”
The article also notes that “Had they pressed [Alussy], they might have learned he is harshly critical of the United States and bitter over a U.S. rocket attack during the war that killed his uncle. Alussy said he thinks the war was fought for oil and holds the United States responsible for the violence and unemployment that since have plagued Iraq.”
Oh yeah… And the melted statues? “Mr. Alussy’s initial asking price was far higher than the officers had expected. He blamed the steep price of bronze. So the Americans decided to recycle the bronze Hussein-on-horseback twins. “We figured we were going to blow them up anyway, so why not take the bronze and use it for our own statues?” recalls Sgt. Fuss. “That way we could take something that honored Saddam and use it to remember all of those we lost getting rid of him.”
Yet another right-wing propaganda attempt debunked.