Marines bring home statuesque souvenir

BBC ^

[dfc62]

Marines from Somerset have brought home an unusual souvenir of their time in Iraq - an eight-foot statue of Saddam Hussein. The men of Taunton-based 40 Commando found the two-tonne sculpture while they were fighting in a town near Basra.

And when they left the country they decided to bring it home with them.

The solid brass creation - similar to one torn down by US forces in Baghdad, symbolising the end of Saddam's reign - now has a new home in the officers' mess.

'Humorous curio'

The toppling of a statue of Saddam symbolised the end of his reign

Major Ross Preston said: "We took the statue from a town in the south east of Iraq.

"We brought it into an area we had secured nearby just for humour, as a bit of a curio.

"Then we realised we could potentially bring it back to the UK, so we did, as a memento of our time in Iraq."

And the statue is sure to prove something of a talking point.

"He is going to reside in the officers' mess at Norton Fitzwarren," said Major Preston.

Talking point

"He seems to be pointing towards something, so I suspect an irreverent sign of some description will be hung from his arm.

"We haven't quite decided what to do with him, but I am sure there will be plenty of debate."

The statue has attracted the attention of the Foreign Office and customs.

But 40 Commando say the statue is neither an antiquity nor a national treasure and probably would have been smashed if left in Iraq.

[alnitak]

I was just about to post this!

Here's the pic

The statue has been put up in the officers' mess at Norton Fitzwarren

[EggsAckley]

Hmmmm.....two tons of brass could be quite valuable when melted down. Not sure I approve of this.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

I guess an enlisted man bringing home a bayonet get's him non-judicial punishment if not more but the O club can bring home a tonnage and put it up for display and they get no punishment.

That's about typical. No use whining about it because it's just life in it's normal setting.

I wonder what the I.G. would say about this? hmmm. Any freepers in that area feel like driving over and signing on the dotted line?

[Publius]

Ship it to the Fremont Chamber of Commerce in Seattle. They bought a huge statue of Lenin when the Soviet Union had its going-out-of-business sale and posted it at a three-way street corner as a conversion piece.

Lenin and Saddam would make a fine matching pair.

[Calpernia]

This is a double edged sword. I'm afraid the Arab Community will see this a looting.

I don't think the Arabs will understand the 'symbolism' that the military saw. We know our military can care less for the financial value. This was more seen as an earned mascott (?), (not sure if mascott is the word I want).

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Ha. That's a great idea. Maybe we should call Bill and Melinda's people to ask for money to buy up one of these statues?

[dfc62]

A quick google suggests 2 tons of brass would be worth around 800-1000 pounds(1300-1700 dollars), so it's not too valuable.

Apparently they're thinking of using it as a signpost to the tennis courts.

[alnitak]

London Metal Exchange says copper is $1,711.50 per metric ton (zinc is only $804.00).

[EggsAckley]

posted it at a three-way street corner as a conversion piece

Conversion piece? As in "conversion to communism?" Just teasing you. ~</;o)

[wimpycat]

That's the very thing my parlor is lacking!

[Publius]

Oh merde!

I meant "conversation piece".

[Colofornian]

I'm afraid the Arab Community will see this a looting.

Okay. I guess I'm dense. How is this different from the FOX technical guy being brought up on charges of stealing art & trying to bring it here? Both are objects of art, right? Both belong to the Iraqi people, right? And, if it's true, that one man's trash is another man's treasure, then even this trashed piece of an icon of trash embodied is still art, right?

[EggsAckley]

But in Iraq that's quite a bit of money. Of course, the idiots would probably melt it down to make bullets.

[Publius]

Only in certain parts of New York and Berkeley would that statue be considered art.

[dfc62]

maybe, but theres probably a glut of large brass statues on the Baghdad scrap metal market at the moment, so the prices there will be a lot lower

[Calpernia]

'Technically', I don't think it is that different than the Fox Technical Guy.

But, I can see separate perspectives. The soldiers spilled their blood there. This is more symbolic to them, not a financial gain.

[alnitak]

LOL! I hear there's a surplus of wood-chippers too.

[lawdude]

Looting. Just plain looting!

[tiamat]

EggsAckley wrote:

Hmmmm.....two tons of brass could be quite valuable when melted down. Not sure I approve of this.

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hey! it's fair!! specially when you think of all the brass casings that we and the Brits left in exchange!

Tia