Not entirely accurate, I’m afraid. This story came out not long after the fall of Baghdad. According to Snopes, yes, it was cast from bronze from Saddam statues, and yes, the artist was an Iraqi who made statues for Saddam. And True, he didn’t care much for Saddam.
But the artist isn’t particularly pro-American. His uncle was killed in American airstrikes and he’s bitter about it. But he was offered a high enough price for the work that he agreed to do it.
...and a fine job he did.
damn. That burst my bubble.
sigh...