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Cyma Hibri, PhD, University of Sydney

Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad watched Saddam's statue topple in 2003. His 'standout' war memoir de-centres the West

Iraqi civilians and U S soldiers pull down a statue of Saddam Hussein in downtown Baghdad Jerome Delay/AP

Baghdad native and former architect Ghaith Abdul-Ahad traces his start as a journalist to the day Saddam Hussein’s statue was toppled in central Baghdad, on April 9 2003 – two weeks after US troops invaded the city.

Framed as a watershed moment, Western media coverage at the time “heavily implied” the statue was taken down by “a large crowd of cheering Iraqis”.

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