It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

DRAMATIC FOOTAGE OF A STATUE OF SADDAM HUSSEIN BEING TOPPLED IN BAGHDAD Is the war over? Probably not entirely but the outcome does not appear to be in doubt. What next?

UPDATE: At least part of what is next is looting and mayhem in the streets. It would be naive to expect otherwise. An important question is how long it will last and whether it will become a serious endemic problem.

UPDATE: Before the statue was actually toppled, a U.S. Marine briefly covered the statue's head with an American Flag. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it seems understandable if not appropriate for the soldiers who risked their lives to accomplish their assignments get to unequivocally declare to the world just who is responsible for the ouster of Saddam Hussein. On the other, I see no need to add fuel to the anti-American fire by providing dramatic images of American imperialism (especially when it is far from clear to me that the U.S. really intends on making Iraq a colony).

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: It appears that the U.S. flag covering Saddam's face was a short-lived phenomenon and was followed by using an Iraqi flag instead:

Hundreds of people swarmed over the hollow metal torso, tearing it to pieces and dragging the head down the street. Before bringing it down, the Marines briefly covered the statue's face with an American flag, then replaced it with the red-black-and-white Iraqi flag.

I will be very interested in which of the two images becomes the one that sticks in our memories.