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March 17th, 2013 
So we used the chain and crane from the Hercules [support vehicle]. I had been
on the radio at one stage when I turned around and saw the US flag up there
over the face. I immediately gave orders for it to be taken down and I know
those orders were also being issued in command rooms by those watching this
on TV.
We had always been clear that we were liberating the country not conquering
it. This was not about raising the US flag, this was not about triumphalism.
Even before my order could be passed through the crowd, the flag had been
taken down and replaced with an Iraqi one. It was only up there for a minute
or two. I think a little bit of exuberance and excitement got the better of
some guys who had woken up that morning geared up for a knock-down, drag-out
fight. They succumbed to the euphoria and out popped the American flag.
I didn’t witness any change in the atmosphere. There was a celebration as the
statue was toppled and then it was dragged along the street with people
using their sandals and shoes to hit it, which is of course a great insult
in the Arab world.
By the time we got to the square that day, we knew it was a moment. But I had
no idea it would become an iconic moment that we’d be looking back at 10
years later. There was nothing staged about that, it was all spontaneous.”
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