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Lambert's claim that some Iraqis wanted to pull down the statue is corroborated to some extent by Kadhim Sharif Hassan al-Jabouri, a local mechanic. Kadhim claimed that he had once fixed motorcycles for Saddam and his son Uday, but there had been a dispute over money. Uday had him thrown in prison. "Fourteen or 15 people in my own family were executed by Saddam," Kadhim told the BBC. When he heard American forces were coming, he was happy. He says he took his sledgehammer and left his nearby garage to go to Firdos Square.
兰伯特称一些伊拉克人想要推倒这座雕像，并在一定程度上得到了当地机械师卡迪姆·谢里夫·哈桑·贾卜利的证实。卡迪姆称他曾为萨达姆和他的儿子乌代修理过摩托车，但在钱的问题上有过争执，乌代把他关进了监狱。卡迪姆告诉BBC：“我家里有14或15个人被萨达姆处决了。”当他听到美国军队要来的时候他很高兴。他说，他拿着大锤离开附近的车库，去了佛多斯广场。
Lambert asked Lewis: "If a sledgehammer and rope fell off the 88, would you mind?"
兰伯特问刘易斯：“如果有大锤和绳子从88装甲车上掉下来，你会介意吗？”
"I wouldn't mind," Lewis replied. "But don't use the 88."
“我不介意，”刘易斯回答。“但别用88装甲车。”
Lambert says he gave the Iraqis his sledgehammer, though Kadhim claims to have brought his own. It is unclear, then, whether the idea to attack the statue came from a relatively low-ranking US soldier, from an Iraqi civilian, or from both.
兰伯特说他把自己的大锤给了伊拉克人，尽管卡迪姆声称自己也带了。目前尚不清楚袭击这座雕像的想法是来自一个级别相对较低的美国士兵，还是来自一个伊拉克平民，还是两者兼而有之。
Kadhim began to hammer at the statue, but all he could really do was get a couple of plaques off the base. Lambert's rope was thrown around the statue's neck. There was little chance of this small crowd toppling such a large bronze. An hour went by.
卡迪姆开始锤打雕像，但他所能做的只是从底座上弄下几块饰板。兰伯特将绳子套在了雕像的脖子上。这一小群人几乎不可能推倒这么大的青铜雕像。一个小时过去了。
Saddam was not budging. "We watched them with the rope, and I knew that was never going to happen," Lambert told journalist Peter Maass, who wrote a detailed investigation of the felling of the statue in 2011. "They were never going to get it down."
萨达姆的雕像并未移动。兰伯特告诉记者彼得·马斯：“我们看着他们用绳子，我知道不可能推倒。”马斯在2011年写了一份关于雕像倒塌的详细调查报告。“他们永远推不倒它。”
At this point, the handful of Iraqis having a go at the statue seemed inclined to give up and go home. Just then, McCoy came out of the hotel. "I realised this was a big deal," he said. "You've got all the press out there and everybody is liquored up on the moment. You have this Paris 1944 feel. I remember thinking, the media is watching the Iraqis trying to topple this icon of Saddam Hussein. Let's give them a hand."
在这一点上，少数一些想要参观这座雕像的伊拉克人似乎倾向于放弃并回家。就在这时，麦考伊从旅馆里出来了。“我意识到这是一件大事，”他说。“所有的媒体都在那里，那一刻大家都醉了，你会有1944年巴黎的感觉。我记得我当时想，媒体正看着伊拉克人试图推倒萨达姆·侯赛因的偶像，让我们为他们鼓掌。”
McCoy radioed a senior officer, who authorised him to involve troops directly in pulling down the statue. McCoy told his troops they could use the M-88 recovery vehicle after all, providing there were no fatalities.
麦考伊通过无线电联系了一名高级军官，后者授权他直接动用军队拆除雕像。麦考伊告诉他的部队，只要没有人员伤亡，他们还是可以使用M-88装甲车。
