A U.S. Marine covers the face of a statue of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with a U.S. flag in Baghdad on April 9, 2003. Jubilant Iraqis tied a noose around a huge statue of Saddam Hussein in the heart of Baghdad and pelted it with shoes as the Iraqi president's 24-year rule collapsed in chaos. In scenes reminiscent of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, crowds cheered as men climbed the huge statue of Saddam in the center of Baghdad and placed the rope around the neck in preparation to topple it. (Reuters TV )
A Kurd kisses a picture of United States President George W. Bush (news - web sites) during celebrations in the streets of Sulaymaniyah, northern Iraq (news - web sites) Wednesday April 9, 2003. Celebrations broke out in at least two cities in the Kurdish autonomous region, as people took to the streets to celebrate what they believe is the end of President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)