Corporal defends raising of US flag as a symbolic gesture

THE United States Marine who sparked controversy when he draped an American flag over a statue of Saddam Hussein said he was “egged on”

Millions of TV viewers around the world saw Corporal Edward Chin, aged 23, place the Stars and Stripes on the head of the 40ft structure in central Baghdad on Wednesday.

Moments later the statue was pulled down by an American military vehicle and destroyed by jubilant Iraqis.

Corporal Chin told CNN the flag incident “was a symbol that we were here to free the people. The crowd were egging us on. They were very happy to see what we were doing”.

His action brought audible gasps in the Pentagon which was keen US forces should not appear as occupiers, and the flag was quickly taken down and replaced with a pre-Gulf War Iraqi flag.

Many Arab commentators said the image had damaged America’s claim to be liberators. One analyst on Abu Dhabi television said some Iraqis looked on with “disgust” when the US flag was raised.

Corporal Chin said the plan had always been to only keep the US flag up for a few seconds.

“We took it down after a brief moment and put their flag up to symbolise that we we’re here to free their country and give it back to the people.”

The US flag used to cover Saddam’s head was recovered from the Pentagon during the September 11 attacks and carried to Baghdad by Marine First Lieutenant Tim McLaughlin.

The hoisting of the Stars and Stripes in Baghdad’s Paradise Square mirrored an incident at the start of the war, when troops raised a US flag over Umm Qasr, but took it down within minutes following orders from the Pentagon.

At Corporal Chin’s family home in New York his fiancee Anne Fu said she knew he meant it as a goodwill gesture.

“He wanted to show the Iraqi people they were free, that they were liberated, that the US was there to help them and that Saddam is over.”

Corporal Chin’s father Stanley, 57, who fled oppression in Burma to live in the US just a week before Edward was born, said his son would go down in history.

“He’s a liberator. He’s proud to be American, doing something for the Iraqi people.”

The soldier’s mother, Laikoon, 52, watched the scene on television.

She did not realise at first it was her son hoisting the flag because his back was to the camera.

When he turned around and she recognised him, she was so excited she hugged the TV set.

“He’s a hero right now. I am very proud of him,” she said.