OT: Interesting tidbit about the US flag on Saddam's statue

[HornedFrog Purple]

http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/images/2003/04/09/image548494x.jpg

This is not a political comment or anything of the sort, but there is some peculiar about this picture in regards to the flag. I haven't heard any network comment about it but it is very ironic in a way. I am sure some of our military buffs will pick it up, just concentrate on the flag.

Can you guess what it is?

[Fritz]

From radio yesterday

it flew over the pentagon on 9/11 and was placed upside down on purpose.

[HornedFrog Purple]

Heh well I stand corrected on part of it.

What is the significance of the flag being hung upside down?

It indicates a time of ........

[Marmel]

It indicates dire distress.

[Marmel]

dola.....

but if it was truly upside down, it would have been rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise from where it is in that picture.

[HornedFrog Purple]

Well done Marmel.

I see your point, but the flag was not being hoisted, it was draped. The point of all of this possibly being that although our men and women in the military did what they had to do, the distress in the decision to proceed and of what this means to not only our country but to the world is not being shoved aside.

I thought it was very symbolic and obviously something Al-Jazeera would not report.

That's just my take on it.

[rexalllsc]

Originally posted by HornedFrog Purple
Well done Marmel.

I see your point, but the flag was not being hoisted, it was draped. The point of all of this possibly being that although our men and women in the military did what they had to do, the distress in the decision to proceed and of what this means to not only our country but to the world is not being shoved aside.

I thought it was very symbolic and obviously something Al-Jazeera would not report.

That's just my take on it.

I think you're reading more into it than the soldiers who were screwin' around w/ the flag! :)

[Ben E Lou]

When I saw it, my thought was that it was to signify a man condemned to death, and that the US was the executioner.

[NoMyths]

Me as well, SkyDog.
Is that true about it being the Pentagon flag from 9/11? If so, are we planning on trotting it out whenever we take over another country in the "Axis of Evil"?

[HornedFrog Purple]

I think you're reading more into it than the soldiers who were screwin' around w/ the flag! :)

I don't deny that at all, however at least when I was in the military, flag procedure etc is "classroom 101". It is drilled into you. :) I heard the soldier interviewed on Larry King and he said his CO told him to do it. Whether that meant put it up as he did or just to put it up he did not specify.

Like I said above it was just my take on it.

Is that true about it being the Pentagon flag from 9/11?

This is what I was told talking informally to some active Marine buddies of mine. I can't confirm that, Fritz said he heard it on the radio, but I have not been able to find a related news story of confirmation. So I really can't say yes, I can say most likely.

[Fritz]

What a caller to a radio talk show said: it was a 9/11 pentagon flag.

Please take the source for what it is worth. it is possible that the flag was from the pentagon, but not flown on 9/11.

About flags and the govt.: there are a shitload of flags that have flown over pentagon and congress and such. I think they must have a guy who runs them up and down all the time. These flags are commonly presented for retirements, funerals, and other cerimonies. Even warships fly new colors all the time so they can have give a way flags for presentations.

What I think really happened: A marine took a flag out and just put it up. I happened to be upside down. It happened to be draped on the head because that was the place where it would not fall off.

Much of the time, symbolism is read into things after they happen.

[Mega]

What struck me about this image is that it looked very similar to the bags being put over the heads of captured Iraqis ealier on. Both those pictures and that image seemed very sinister to me. Don't get me wrong, I am behind the US 100% and definatly think this is a just war, but considering all the international media over there, I thought there were some poor decision made regarding the visual image the US is sending.

Of course, despite leafing through hundreds of photos on foxnews.com, I can't find the image I remember, but I did find a story about similar incidents:

Brittish Take on Head Baggies (http://www.observer.co.uk/waronterrorism/story/0,1373,628354,00.html)

[stkelly52]

Originally posted by HornedFrog Purple
I don't deny that at all, however at least when I was in the military, flag procedure etc is "classroom 101". It is drilled into you. :)

From my experiance in the USAF, how to fly the flag is one of the first things that you learn in Basic Training. You take the teston it later that week and then you can forget about it (which is what everyone does) unless you are in the honor guard. You then have to relearn it before you test to try to get your promotions. ANd even for those testing for promotions, they do remeber the basic ways of hanging a flag, but for anything special they tend to not have a clue (again, unless you are part of the honor guard).