Watching the statue of Saddam being taken down by the cheering Iraqis with help of American soldiers, I couldn't help myself but reminisce about 1987-8 USSR. I was about 17 at the time and remember being in the midst of a similar crowd in the central square of my city, tearing down the statue of Lenin. That was a historic and symbolic event for us, much as April 9th, 2003 will be for most Iraqis. The similarities in behavior are astonishing too, including the ressurection of a pre-Gulf War Iraqi flag (in my hometown, people used a pre-Soviet flag of the opposition).

However, I didn't know that Iraq had a different flag before the Gulf War. Apparently, the flag in its present form has been introduced in January of 1991. The change was the two arabic letter present between the stars. The letter mean "Allah Akhbar" (Allah is Great!).

The significance of the gesture, when Iraqis intentionally used an original flag (introduced in 1963), should be emphasized. This means that Iraqis clearly view toppling of Saddam as a percursor of not only the regime change, but also as a turning pont in changing the mentality of the new order.

Despite the cheering crowds and an upbeat mood, as indicated by VP Cheney, hard battles for coalition forces might lie ahead. However, for the Iraqis-this is The Day.