For those who watched with anticipation, the collapse of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad's center Wednesday was history in the making - the fall of tyranny and the rebirth of a people.
It was like witnessing the climax of a well-known fairy tale: the part where Prince Charming (coalition forces) courageously rescues the beautiful princess (the Iraqi people) from the dark and cold prison of the evil queen (Saddam).
But this real-life event is far more serious than any children's story. And all who watch the U.S.-led liberation of Iraq should not let their minds wander from that fact.
While it is comforting to see joyous Iraqis take to the streets and attack images of Saddam with shoes, slippers, sledgehammers, cardboard boxes, sticks, garbage and any other makeshift weapons they could find, we need not forget that many aren't so welcoming to the coalition cause.
In the coming days, as has been a common trend since the war began, America will be bombarded with images of Iraqis celebrating their liberation. These are the images that help our leaders champion their cause and continue to build on justifications for the Bush Administration's pre-emptive war to free the Iraqi people from Saddam's regime.
Behind every brigade of celebratory Iraqis, there are citizens of that state who would rather greet American soldiers in the same way that Thursday's suicide bomber did near a U.S. checkpoint in the northern part of the capital city. Four U.S. Marines were wounded in that attack.
Behind every image of Iraqi citizens cheering on coalition troops, there are stories of villagers taking offense to the American's free handouts, such as Maxim magazines. Although many Iraqis hated living under the brutal rule of Saddam, they don't want Western culture imposed upon them either. They see such things as a corruption to their way of life.
The task to take Baghdad was difficult, but the U.S.-led offense's hardest effort still seems to stand in its way.
America's challenge to liberate Iraq is a many-sided mission. Our charge is to remove Saddam without inserting a Western way of life where it is unwanted.
The Associated Press reports that Iraq's liberated leadership was adamant when U.S. Marines entered the capital that they don't want to see U.S. flags raised or Iraqi flags torn down; nor do they want coalition soldiers interacting with their women at checkpoints.
We should not forget that while many Iraqis are grateful for our aid, they do not wish to conform in our way of life. That is why it is imperative for coalition leaders to put Iraq's government into the hands of the Iraqi people as soon as possible.
Iraq can be no more free under coalition military rule than it could under Saddam's dictatorship. The liberation of the Iraqi people means their state should be put into their hands prudently. The task at hand is a difficult one.
As the war with Iraq unfolds, American views need to keep in mind the situation is far more complex than the view of any news camera and far more serious than any celebration.
