Hands of Victory - A Painful Symbol from a Terrible Regime or a Symbol with a Lesson

Although I tried to find articles from the time the Hands of Victory monument in Baghdad, Iraq was erected, I could not. But I did find many interesting articles that were more recent about the debates going on about whether to destroy this monument or leave it up. Some see the monument as a symbol of national pride or a reminder of past mistakes. They believe that it is necessary to preserve these monuments to preserve their history. Many other people see the monument as an exaltation of Saddam's regime and find this to be a painful memory. They believe that to rebuild their country, this monument and others similar to it must be destroyed.
The new Iraqi government agreed with them and in January 2007, they started the demolition. Interestingly, just a few days later the U.S. government demanded that they stop the demolition, which brings up the question of why they would do such a thing. What does it matter to them? I can see no real reason except for the U.S. government believing that this monument will discourage the same thing from happening again. This interference of the U.S. has angered the Iraqi government though.
This debate that has risen in Iraq is not a new one. Several other monuments from authoritarian regimes are being or have been removed. It is a controversial topic, and the answer comes down to the meaning of the monument. The problem is that the monument means different things to different people. Some see it as pride, others as Saddam's vanity. With this monument, they are thinking of reaching a compromise where one of the swords is left, and the rest are melted down and made into a new arch to represent their new country without losing its history.

Two Journalistic Pieces:
Both this article and this article present both sides in the debate of whether the monuments left over from Saddam Hussein's regime should be left as a tribute to history or destroyed.
Opinion Piece:
This opinion piece written by an Iraqi sculptor discusses his view on the removal of Iraq's monuments. It does not reference the Hands of Victory directly, but it is interesting to see how artists view the subject of the destruction of these monuments.
An interesting "article" to see:
Although this article, titled the Seven Wonders of the Totalitarian World, doesn't contain much information about this monument, it is fun article to read. It has pictures of monuments to rulers we have studied and other famous totalitarian rulers. I found the one in Libya especially intriguing.