Crossed Swords

Last Sunday, my shop took a field trip of sorts to Saddam’s old military parade ground, known colloquially as the Crossed Swords Monument. Saddam constructed the monument after the end of the ruinous Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). Ever the egoist, Saddam had a German firm sculpt two sets of titanic replicas of his own hands holding a pair of swords that arch across a large causeway. The two swords meet and form an arc under which military units used to parade under. Two sets of these arches lie at either end of the parade ground. In the middle are open air auditoriums where former regime dignitaries could watch the “battle hardened” Iraqi army pass in review. When the monument first opened, Saddam himself rode a white horse across the causeway, an allusion to Shiite martyr Hussein.

Today, the monument is in great disrepair. Portions of the bronze sheets that form Saddam’s hands have peeled away or fallen off. A hand is completely missing on one of the swords altogether. The auditoriums are in ruin, windows broken, seats missing, even the marble floor of one building pried off and taken by looters shortly after the regime’s collapse in 2003.

After visiting, we drove a short distance to the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, which is often mistakenly referred to as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (there are no Iraqis soldiers buried in it). It’s a very modern looking monument which resembles a large oyster shell opening. Official descriptions of the monument say the rising open air roof is supposed to evoke the fallen shield of an ancient Iraqi warrior. In the center, where the “pearl” of the oyster would be, is a large red-colored Murano glass cube surrounded by geometric metal sheet shapes. The red glass evokes the blood of Iraqi solders spilled during the Iran-Iraq War.

The monument is guarded by Iraqi army troops who grant permission. During our visit, we were escorted by a taciturn looking but accommodating Iraqi soldier (anyone would look taciturn guarding such a monument in 120F heat).

One of my co-workers, a marine lieutenant colonel who is a helicopter pilot, spoke broken Arabic with our guide. At the end of the visit, he gave the Iraqi soldier his gold pilot’s wings as a token of appreciation and respect.