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A number of international journalists who were covering the invasion moved into the Palestine Hotel on Firdos Square, where Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf held his amusing press conferences. They had been relocated from the Al Rasheed Hotel, closer to the city's political centre, after much of it had been destroyed by bombing. Though the Palestine Hotel was known to be a media refuge, an American tank fired a shell at it on 8 April, mistaking a camera on a balcony for an Iraqi spotting device. Two journalists were killed, three were injured, and the rest were outraged.
一些報道入侵事件的國際記者進入了位于佛多斯廣場的巴勒斯坦酒店，穆罕默德·賽義德·薩哈夫在那里舉行了有趣的新聞發布會。他們是從拉希德酒店轉移過來的，該酒店距離該市的政治中心更近，大部分酒店已被轟炸摧毀。盡管眾所周知巴勒斯坦酒店是媒體的避難所，但一輛美國坦克在4月8日向它發射了一枚炮彈，誤將陽臺上的攝像頭當成了伊拉克的偵察裝置。兩名記者死亡，三名記者受傷，剩下的人則憤怒不已。
It was fortunate, then, that a story would come along to distract them from their anger at the Pentagon the next day, and that it would happen on Firdos Square – right outside their hotel. Fortunate, but not planned by the Pentagon. The story was created spontaneously by American soldiers on the ground. It was spun into a full-blown global event by the international news media.
幸運的是，第二天發生了一個故事，分散了他們對五角大樓的憤怒，這件事發生在佛多斯廣場——就在他們下榻的酒店外面。幸運的是，五角大樓沒有計劃。這個故事是由地面上的美國士兵自發編出來的，它被國際新聞媒體迅速發酵成一場全面的全球事件。
On 9 April 2003, Lt Col Brian McCoy, in charge of the 3rd Battalion 4th Marines, was told by a journalist at the Palestine Hotel that there were no Iraqi forces in Firdos Square. Simon Robinson, a reporter for Time magazine, said McCoy knew that journalists would be there, so "there were going to be opportunities".
2003年4月9日，一名記者告知海軍第四陸戰隊第三營的指揮官布萊恩·麥考伊中校佛多斯廣場沒有伊拉克軍隊。《時代》雜志記者西蒙·羅賓遜表示，麥考伊知道記者們會到場，所以“會有很多機會”。
Capt Bryan Lewis, leader of McCoy's tank company, blocked the streets leading to the square. Gunnery Sgt Leon Lambert, in an M-88 armoured recovery vehicle, radioed him with an idea: should they pull down Saddam's statue? Lewis replied: "No way."
麥考伊坦克連長布萊恩·劉易斯上尉封鎖了通往廣場的街道。炮兵中士萊昂·蘭伯特坐在一輛M-88裝甲車上，用無線電向他傳達了一個想法：他們應該推倒薩達姆的雕像嗎？劉易斯回答說：“不行。”
McCoy went into the Palestine Hotel to meet reporters. Just after 5pm, Lambert radioed Lewis again, telling him that now local Iraqis themselves wanted to pull down the statue. There were a few of them in the square, and a lot of journalists.
麥考伊走進巴勒斯坦飯店會見記者。下午5點剛過，蘭伯特再次用無線電通知劉易斯，告訴他當地的伊拉克人想要拆除這座雕像。廣場上有他們的幾個人，還有很多記者。
