Iraq War News

Iraq
Saddam's Capture Gives Bush Huge Boost: "Saddam Hussein's capture lifted a huge political weight from President Bush after months of rising casualties and growing doubts about his handling of Iraq. Around the world, it sent a thundering message of America's resolve to prevail in the war against terrorism. (AP)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



Saddam Captured 'Like a Rat' Near Home Town: "U.S. troops captured a bearded,unkempt Saddam Hussein hiding "like a rat" in a hole near hishome town, handing President Bush a major coup after arelentless rise in military casualties in Iraq. (Reuters)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



U.S. captures haggard Saddam in Iraq pit: "Without firing a shot, American forces captured a bearded and haggard-looking Saddam Hussein in a dirt pit across a river from one of his former palaces near his hometown of Tikrit, ending one of the most intensive manhunts in history. The arrest was a huge victory for U.S. forces battling an insurgency by the ousted dictator's followers."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Leftist Israeli lawmakers visit outposts: "Dovish lawmakers and peace activists visited unauthorized Israeli outposts on Sunday to refute claims they were demolished by the Israeli government under terms of a U.S.-backed peace plan."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Iraqis want Saddam tried in Baghdad: "The interim Iraqi government said Sunday it wants to try Saddam Hussein before a special tribunal, but a human rights group voiced deep concern about the legitimacy of the newly established panel."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Iraqis surprised Saddam didn't fight: "Saddam Hussein should have put up a fight or committed suicide, stunned Iraqis said Sunday after watching images of their fallen leader, haggard and humiliated, in American custody."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



4 U.S. soldiers injured in Kuwait attacks: "Four U.S. soldiers were slightly injured Sunday after their truck convoys came under fire in two separate attacks in Kuwait, a U.S. military spokesman said."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Saddam's fall: From palaces to filthy pit: "A man who lived in sprawling palaces was pulled from a hole in the dirt. A man who challenged the greatest armies in the world was arrested without firing a shot. A man who embezzled billions of dollars and put his image on every Iraqi bank note was found with a single suitcase of cash - bearing the face of an American, Benjamin Franklin."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



New Iraqi Leaders Confront Their Former Dictator: "Saddam Hussein was said to be defiant and unrepentant in a meeting with four members of the Governing Council."

In New York Times: World Special



Car Bomb West of Baghdad Kills at Least 17: "It was the deadliest attack on American-led forces since two police stations near Baghdad were hit with car bombs three weeks ago."

In New York Times: World Special



The Hunt for Bin Laden Is More Complex, Experts Say: "There were more local Iraqi sources who could be recruited than in the area where Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding out."

In New York Times: World Special



President Bush's remarks on the Capture of Saddam Hussein: "President Bush: "Yesterday, December the 13th, at around 8:30 p.m. Baghdad time, United States military forces captured Saddam Hussein alive. He was found near a farmhouse outside the city of Tikrit, in a swift raid conducted without casualties. And now the former dictator of Iraq will face the justice he denied to millions. The capture of this man was crucial to the rise of a free Iraq. It marks the end of the road for him, and for all who bullied and killed in his name. For the Baathist holdouts largely responsible for the current violence, there will be no return to the corrupt power and privilege they once held. For the vast majority of Iraqi citizens who wish to live as free men and women, this event brings further assurance that the torture chambers and the secret police are gone forever.""

In Electronic Iraq



Let Us Rejoice at Saddam's Capture: "Now that Saddam has been captured, it may be useful to refresh Western memory on a few things before the media wipes the historical slate clean. Remember when we all started hating Saddam Hussein in 1990? Why didn't we hate him before? Probably because he was gassing Kurds, developing weapons of mass destruction and torturing his own people, but with Western, primarily US money and weaponry. He did the wrong thing in 1990 and threatened US-UK interests by invading Kuwait to solve legitimate longstanding historical grievances, including the ongoing Kuwaiti theft of Iraqi oil. All attempts to resolve the crisis through negotiations were rebuffed by the US, negotiations which could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Darren Ell writes this opinion piece for Electronic Iraq."

In Electronic Iraq



Samarra-US Military Using Weapons of Mass Deception?: "On November 30th, in Samarra, US military officials reported a raging firefight between US forces and resistance fighters. Reports suggested a large, highly organized ambush on US troops within the city by mujahideen and Fedayin fighters. Occupation forces responded fiercely, killing 54 Iraqis, according to General Peter Pace, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Pace stated; "They attacked and they were killed, so I think it will be instructive to them." The story the people of Samarra are telling about the fight goes something like this: US soldiers were guarding a delivery of money to the bank in Samarra, gunfire was heard in the distance and the jumpy Americans opened fire, riddling the city center with bullets, killing 8 civilians and wounding 50 in the process. Dahr Jamail reports for Electronic Iraq."

In Electronic Iraq



"This is the better life?": "Today there was a demonstration that marched over the Tigris River to the CPA, concerning detainees and the plight of many innocents currently jailed by the occupation forces. It was a small demonstration, but the potential for problems with the US military was high due to the fact that it didn't attempt to get a permit from the CPA to march. Nonetheless, it went off without any major problems--only a little harassment and warning by some US soldiers as the procession moved past one of the gates into the CPA compound. Soldiers approached with guns, while those manning the heavy machine guns at the gate kept their guns pointed in the direction of the demonstration."

In Electronic Iraq



Anger in Ramadi: "There was, after all, a welcome in Ramadi. I can't say the rumours that it's dangerous are exaggerated, but my hands were not cut off and wherever I went people gave me chai, invited me in and wanted to talk. It's true there was a constant percussion of gunfire, but Thursday afternoon is peak time for weddings and a lot of firing in the air goes on. We were outside the army base to ask the commander for an explanation about the raid which killed Ibrahim and Sabah Odai and their cousin Mohammed when guns were pointed at us and we were surrounded by an incoming convoy of humvees. They were already "on lock down" when we got there, apparently having some warning of the attack on the other side of the palace which, a couple of minutes later, made the ground quake as I haven't felt since the war and the appointment with Captain Galloway was postponed by implication. Jo Wilding writes from Iraq."

In Electronic Iraq



The mood on campus: "We didn't move for twenty minutes. The petrol queues, combined with the usual chaos of intersections, had packed the traffic solidly so that, if you had an inch either end to rock back and forth in, you counted yourself lucky. Passengers got out of cars and passers-by came off pavements to marshal cars onto the pavement, which freed a bit of space in the middle of the jam though another crisis came up in the shape of a heap of bricks and sand further up the alley. Hussam's college, when we finally reached it, is Nahrain University, which used to be Saddam's university. A plinth at the entrance with a ragged stump on top marks his demise. Jo Wilding writes about the experience of a university community."

In Electronic Iraq



Ahmed and Ali: "Ahmed volunteered for the last 15 days of the war as an ambulance driver. He started out trying to bring bodies and injured people to the hospital in his car, but as only one of the hospital's ambulances in use during the later two thirds of war, he and his friend Ali started using a second one instead of the car. "I brought five hundred bodies and many injured people. I brought all of them to Saddam Children's Hospital [part of the Baghdad Medical City] because it was the only one that was still functioning. I never even saw a dead body before and they took me to the morgue and there were 80 bodies there." Jo Wilding writes from Iraq."

In Electronic Iraq



The end of resistance?: "The BBC's defence correspondent looks at the implications of Saddam's capture on the future of order in Iraq."

In BBC: Conflict with Iraq (UK Edition)



Capture not likely to stop Iraq attacks: "The capture of Saddam Hussein, eight months on the run and found hiding in a hole beneath a two-room mud house near his hometown, was unlikely to destroy the anti-U.S. guerrilla insurgency, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Sunday."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Bush says Saddam to face justice: "Saddam Hussein now faces the "justice he denied to millions," President Bush said Sunday, declaring a repressive era in Iraq over but cautioning that attacks on U.S.-led troops would continue."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Baghdad council hears of capture in U.S.: "Four members of Baghdad's city council had just arrived in Colorado to start a tour of U.S. cities and lessons in democracy when the news came in that their country's former dictator had been captured."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



U.S. 4th Infantry celebrate in Tikrit: "Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division, who all but missed the invasion of Iraq but have been at the front line of postwar hostilities, spent Sunday afternoon smoking cigars after scoring the allies' biggest triumph since the fall of Baghdad."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Results show Turkish Cypriots deadlocked: "The Turkish Cypriot opposition took a slim lead Sunday in crucial parliamentary elections that will shape the future of divided Cyprus and help define Turkey's relations with the European Union, early election results showed."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Suspicious hole leads soldiers to Saddam: "When darkness fell, the Americans moved into position, 600 of them, from infantrymen to elite special forces. Their target: two houses in this rural village of orange, lemon and palm groves. Someone big was inside, they were told. But when they struck, they found nothing."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Ex-Leader, Found Hiding in Hole, Is Detained Without a Fight: "By EDWARD WONG"

In New York Times: World Special



President Sees 'a Hopeful Day' for Iraqi People: "The president told Iraqis that they need not fear the return of Saddam Hussein and pledged that he will face justice."

In New York Times: World Special



Tony Blair's Statement On The Capture Of Saddam Hussein: "Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Full text: prime minister's statement
I thought it only proper to include some of our greatest ally's speech on the capture of Saddam Hussein. Thank you Tony Blair.

Where his rule meant terror and division and brutality, let his capture bring about reconciliation and peace between all the people in Iraq.
Saddam is gone from power. He will not be coming back. That the Iraqi people now know, and it is they who will decide his future.
And in Iraq today we work hard, the coalition forces from 30 different nations and Iraqis who love their country and who work hard with us to rebuild Iraq to nurture its wealth for all its people.
In the timetable we have established, power will be handed over to the Iraqis to run Iraq as a sovereign, independent state, based on the principles of justice, democracy and the rule of law.
[....]
The rebirth of Iraq is the death of their attempt to sell the lie that we are fighting Muslims. Muslims were Saddam's victims. Muslims, today in Iraq, the beneficiaries of his demise.
Let's remember all those Iraqis who died under Saddam. The remains of 400,000 human beings already found in mass graves.
So this is a time for celebration, but it is also a time to look forward, to unify and to reconcile.
Our thanks go to the coalition forces and the intelligence services who brought about Saddam's capture. Once again, they have proved their professionalism, their courage, and their commitment.

"

In Command Post: Irak



Iraqi-Americans celebrate Saddam capture in CNN - War in Iraq



The end of resistance?: "The BBC's defence correspondent looks at the implications of Saddam's capture on the future of order in Iraq."

In BBC: Conflict with Iraq



A tyrant falls...: "... and everybody keeps on spinning. The President took the opportunity to again falsely linkSaddam Hussein to international fundamentalist Islamic terrorists. Meanwhile, Joe Lieberman sunk to his lowest moment of an already spotty career with this extreme example of opportunism: "If Howard Dean had his way, Saddam Hussein would be in power today, not in prison,� Lieberman told NBC's "Meet the Press." Some of us just left the ABBA party."

In Alternet: War On Iraq



Saddam arrested: "The haggard, disheveled man with a long beard arrested in a farm house in Tikrit bore little resemblance to the image of Saddam Hussein so often seen by the rest of the world. Iraqis celebrated in the streets at the news of their long-time oppresser's capture. There is little doubt that Saddam will be tried by the newly-formed human rights tribunal.
But what is unclear is whether his arrest will stem the rising insurgency as the administration has been wont to claim."

In Alternet: War On Iraq



Bush's statement in full: "The full text of the US president's televised speech following the capture of the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein."

In BBC: Conflict with Iraq



Blair statement in full: "UK prime minister Tony Blair, speaking from Downing Street, gives his reaction to the news of Saddam Hussein's capture"

In BBC: Conflict with Iraq



Car bomb at Iraqi police station kills 17: "A suspected suicide attacker detonated a car bomb outside an Iraqi police station Sunday near Baghdad, killing at least 17 people and wounding 33 others, hours before the announcement of Saddam Hussein's capture, the U.S. military said."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Interrogators will press Saddam for intel: "Saddam Hussein's interrogators are initially focusing on the former Iraqi president's ties to the guerrilla war, pressing him for intelligence about impending attacks and the locations of resistance leaders, U.S. officials said Sunday."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Close calls preceded U.S. raid for Saddam: "Eight months and four days after the fall of Baghdad, it fell to soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division and a secretive team of commandos to pry Saddam Hussein from a hole in the ground far smaller than the craters made by U.S. bombs that missed him on the war's opening night."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq

US soldiers from 1-22 Battalion of the 4th Infantry Division smile at the 4ID headquarters, in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, 180 kms (110 miles) north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.(AFP/Mauricio Lima) Yahoo! News - Mideast Photos - AFP

Captured former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein undergoes a medical examination in Baghdad Sunday Dec. 14, 2003 in this image from television. Top U.S. administrator in Iraq L. Paul Bremer confirmed the capture of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in a dirt hole under a farmhouse near his hometown of Tikrit, eight months after the fall of Baghdad. (AP Photo/US Military via APTN)Saddam-Hussein-Captured

Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is filmed after his capture in this footage released December 14, 2003. U.S. troops captured Saddam Hussein near his home town of Tikrit announced U.S. administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer on Sunday, in a major coup for Washington's beleaguered occupation force in Iraq. REUTERS/Handout Yahoo! News - World Photos - Reuters

TIKRIT, Iraq (Dec. 14) - U.S. troops captured Saddam Hussein near his home town of Tikrit in a major coup for Washington's beleaguered occupation force in Iraq.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," the U.S. administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer said on Sunday in his first, pithy comments to a Baghdad news conference. Cheers greeted the announcement.

"The tyrant is a prisoner," he said, adding the capture was made in a town near Tikrit on Saturday.

"There were no injuries. Not a single shot was fired," Lieutenant-General Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. general in Iraq, told the news conference in the Iraqi capital.




He then showed a videotape of a bearded Saddam in detention and undergoing medical checks.

Soldiers tore off a false beard and took samples from the ousted dictator for DNA identity tests after digging down into a cellar during an overnight raid on a house following a tip-off, members of Iraq's U.S.-backed Governing Council said on Sunday.

After seven months of increasingly bloody attacks on U.S. forces and their allies following Saddam's ousting on April 9, the arrest is a major boon for U.S. President George W. Bush. His campaign for re-election next year has been overshadowed by mounting casualties and wrangling with key allies over Iraq.

It may break the spirit of some of his diehard supporters and ease anxieties of many Iraqis who lived in fear for three decades under a man who led them into three disastrous wars.





U.S. officials will also hope to extract key intelligence on the alleged weapons programs which formed the public grounds for Bush to go to war in defiance of many U.N. allies. Little evidence of banned weapons has been found.

Saddam, 66, had kept up a stream of belligerent rhetoric from hiding, even after his sons Uday and Qusay were killed by U.S. troops in July.

Already vexed by its failure to find al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, Washington blamed Saddam for promoting some of the violence against its forces.

But analysts warned that other groups could go on fighting.

"This has lifted a shadow from the people of Iraq. Saddam will not be returning," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a statement.

Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay were identified after comparisons with DNA samples. The sons went down, guns blazing, against overwhelming force, including missiles and aircraft.

Their father was taken alive.

Washington has made Saddam number one -- the "ace of spades" -- on its list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis, and placed a $25 million reward on his head.

An informer was paid $30 million and given refuge in the United States for turning in Uday and Qusay in Mosul.

Saddam would be put on trial, Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmad Chalabi told Reuters. A tribunal system for Iraqis to try Saddam and fellow Baathist leaders was set up only last week.

"This is good for Iraq. He will be put on trial. Let him face justice," Chalabi, who returned after the invasion from years in U.S. exile, said in Baghdad.

The word came just hours after the latest major attack on Washington's Iraqi allies, with a suspected suicide car bomber killing at least 17 people and wounding 33 at an Iraqi police station in the restive town of Khalidiyah, west of Baghdad.

GUNFIRE

In early afternoon, gunfire broke out across the capital as news filtered through that Saddam was in U.S. custody.

U.S. officials had said Saddam had eluded American troops by moving every few hours, probably in disguise and aided by members of his clan in the Sunni Muslim areas around Tikrit, north of Baghdad.

The capture of Saddam is a morale boost for U.S. troops in Iraq, who have been under daily attack from shadowy guerrillas, some of whom they believe may have been directed by the former president from hiding.

U.S. forces, backed by Britain and Australia, toppled Saddam in April.

"His arrest will put an end to military and terrorist attacks and the Iraqi nation will achieve stability," said Amar al-Hakin, a senior member of the Shi'ite political party the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

"We want Saddam to get what he deserves. I believe he will be sentenced to hundreds of death sentences at a fair trial because he's responsible for all the massacres and crimes in Iraq."

But Mustafa Alani, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London, warned that there were other anti-American groups in Iraq ready to continue attacks.

"There will be a reduction in operations sponsored by former regime loyalists, but this is not the full story because they are not the only group involved," he said.

"For the Americans after the failure to capture Osama bin Laden after so many years, it is a propaganda coup...It's an intelligence prize because they can get information from him about cells working now. And it's a huge victory."


12/14/03 07:28 ET

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saddam arrested in a crawlspace


04:53:49 È.Ù
Iraq, Dec 14 - Saddam Hussein was captured in an underground "crawlspace" near his northern hometown of Tikrit on Saturday, the US army announced Sunday.

Soldiers captured him without incident," the army's 4th Infantry Division (4th ID) said in a statement.

"Two other people were captured with Hussein and soldiers confiscated approximately 750,000 in US currency," the statement said.

"Saddam the deposed leader of Iraq has been captured.

Coalition forces ... raided a compound in the town of Ad Dawr, just south of Tikrit on Dec 13.

Hussein was found hiding in an underground crawlspace."

"The intimidation and fear this man generated for over 30 years is gone," said 4th ID commander major-general Raymond Odierno.

"Many will rest much better tonight knowing Iraq is moving forward to a more secure environment," he said.

Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment posing next to a mural of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. Saddam Hussein was captured in an underground 'crawlspace' near his northern hometown of Tikrit on Saturday, the US Army's 4th Infantry Division annnounced.(AFP/File/Cris Bouroncle)

In this image realeased by the U.S. Army on Sunday Dec. 14 2003 former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is shown in custody after he was arrested near his Tikrit home Saturday night. (AP Photo/US Army, HO) Yahoo! News - World Photos - AP



We cleaned the filth that was on him but can never clean the filth within him
Saddam Hussein will murder No More

You got Saddam!!!!!!
Message Text: From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for the wonderful job you have done. When my family heard those immortal words from Sanchez this morning, we were moved to tears. Congratulations to all of you.

The Avery Family
Swindon, ENGLAND, UK

they say they have DNA to prove it IS saddam!!! WAAAHOOOO girl, and scuse my language in that heading,
working on the site
vickey
Armysis
JUBULATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i AM SO PROUD OF OUR SOLDIERS!:-)cAN'T BELIVE THIS DAY HAS COME! What a great job they are doing.

WE GOT THE BASTARD

Video image of captured former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein displayed at a news conference in Baghdad Sunday Dec. 14, 2003 in this image from television. The video shows a bearded Saddam being examined with his mouth open with a tongue depressor, apparently to get a DNA sample. Top U.S. administrator in Iraq L. Paul Bremer confirmed the capture of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in a house near his hometown of Tikrit, eight months after the fall of Baghdad. (AP Photo/APTN) Yahoo! News - World Photos - AP

Video image of captured former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein displayed at a news conference in Baghdad Sunday Dec. 14, 2003 in this image from television. Top U.S. administrator in Iraq L. Paul Bremer confirmed the capture of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in a house near his hometown of Tikrit, eight months after the fall of Baghdad. (AP Photo/APTN) Yahoo! News - World Photos - AP

American forces capture Saddam in Tikrit, U.S. announces
BY HAMZA HENDAWI
Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- American forces captured a bearded Saddam Hussein as he hid in the cellar of a farmhouse near his hometown of Tikrit, ending one of the most intensive manhunts in history. The arrest, eight months after the fall of Baghdad, was carried out without a shot fired and was a huge victory for U.S. forces.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer told a news conference. "The tyrant is a prisoner."

Bremer said that Saddam was captured Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in a cellar in the town of Adwar, 10 miles from Tikrit, ending one of the most intense manhunts in history.

In the capital, radio stations played celebratory music, residents fired small arms in the air in celebration and others drove through the streets, shouting, "They got Saddam! They got Saddam!"

At the news conference announcing his capture, U.S. forces aired a video showing a bearded Saddam being examined by a doctor holding his mouth open with a tongue depressor, apparently to get a DNA sample.

Then a video was shown of Saddam after he was shaved.

Iraqi journalists in the audience stood, pointed and shouted "Death to Saddam!" and "Down with Saddam!"

"The captive has been talkative and is being cooperative," Sanchez said. Saddam was being held at an undisclosed location, and U.S. authorities have not yet determined whether to hand him over to the Iraqis for trial. Iraqi officials want him to stand trial before a war crimes tribunal created last week.

Two other Iraqis were also arrested in the raid and two AK-47 assault rifles, a pistol and $750,000 in $100 bills were seized, Sanchez said.

Sanchez described Saddam's demeanor during the arrest, saying he seemed "a tired man. Also I think a man resigned."

Forces from the 4th Infantry Division along with Special Forces captured Saddam, the U.S. military said. There were no shots fired or injuries in the raid, called "Operation Red Dawn," said Lt. Gen. Richardo Sanchez.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed Saddam's capture.

"This is very good news for the people of Iraq. It removes the shadow that has been hanging over them for too long of the nightmare of a return to the Saddam regime," he said in a statement released by his office.

Trapped in the cellar, Saddam was in a six-to-eight-foot-deep "spider hole" that had been camouflaged with bricks and dirt. The soldiers saw the hole, investigated and found him inside, Sanchez said.

The video showed an air vent and fan inside the hole to allow Saddam to remain hidden for an extended period.

In Baghdad, shop owners closed their doors, worried that all the shooting would make the streets unsafe.

"I'm very happy for the Iraqi people. Life is going to be safer now," said 35-year-old Yehya Hassan, a resident of Baghdad. "Now we can start a new beginning."

Earlier in the day, rumors of the capture sent people streaming into the streets of Kirkuk, a northern Iraqi city, firing guns in the air in celebration.

"We are celebrating like it's a wedding," said Kirkuk resident Mustapha Sheriff. "We are finally rid of that criminal."

"This is the joy of a lifetime," said Ali Al-Bashiri, another resident. "I am speaking on behalf of all the people that suffered under his rule."

In Tikrit, U.S. soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division, the unit that is responsible for security in Saddam's hometown, were smoking cigars after hearing the news of Saddam's capture.

Despite the celebration throughout Baghdad, many residents were skeptical.

"I heard the news, but I'll believe it when I see it," said Mohaned al-Hasaji, 33. "They need to show us that they really have him."

Ayet Bassem, 24, walked out of a shop with her 6-year-old son.

"Things will be better for my son," she said. "Everyone says everything will be better when Saddam is caught. My son now has a future."

"This success brings closure to the Iraqi people. We now have final resolution. Saddam Hussein will never return to a position of power from which he can punish, terrorize, intimidate and exploit the Iraqi people as the did for more than 35 years," Sanchez said.

After invading Iraq on March 20 and setting up their headquarters in Saddam's sprawling Republican Palace compound in Baghdad, U.S. troops launched a massive manhunt for the fugitive leader, placing a $25 million bounty on his head and sending thousands of soldiers to search for him.

Saddam's sons Qusai and Odai -- each with a $15 million bounty on their heads -- were killed July 22 in a four-hour gunbattle with U.S. troops in a hideout in the northern city of Mosul. The bounties were paid out to the man who owned the house where they were killed, residents said.

A Governing Council member, Jalal Talabani, told Iran's official news agency, IRNA, that Saddam's detention will bring stability to Iraq.

"With the arrest of Saddam, the source financing terrorists has been destroyed and terrorist attacks will come to an end. Now we can establish a durable stability and security in Iraq," Talabani was quoted as saying.
Charleston.Net: News: War on Terror: American forces capture Saddam in Tikrit, U.S. announces 12/14/03

BAGHDAD, Iraq - American forces captured Saddam Hussein as he hid in the cellar of a farmhouse near his hometown of Tikrit, ending one of the most intensive manhunts in history. The arrest, eight months after the fall of Baghdad, was carried out without a shot fired and was a huge victory for U.S. forces.

``Ladies and gentlemen, we got him,'' U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer told a news conference. ``The tyrant is a prisoner.''

Saddam was captured Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in a specially prepared ``spider hole'' in the cellar in the town of Adwar, 10 miles from Tikrit, Lt Col. Ricardo Sanchez said. The hole was 6 to 8 feet deep, camouflaged with bricks and dirt and supplied with an air vent to allow long periods inside.

In the capital, radio stations played celebratory music, residents fired small arms in the air and others drove through the streets, shouting, ``They got Saddam! They got Saddam!''

Video image of captured former Iraqi leader Saddam HusseinAssociated PressAt the news conference announcing his capture, U.S. forces aired a video showing a bearded Saddam being examined by a doctor holding his mouth open with a tongue depressor, apparently to get a DNA sample. Saddam was showing touching his beard during the exam.

Then a video was shown of Saddam after he was shaved.

Iraqi journalists in the audience stood, pointed and shouted ``Death to Saddam!'' and ``Down with Saddam!''

``The captive has been talkative and is being cooperative,'' Sanchez said. Saddam was being held at an undisclosed location, and U.S. authorities have not yet determined whether to hand him over to the Iraqis for trial. Iraqi officials want him to stand trial before a war crimes tribunal created last week.

Ahmad Chalabi, a member of Iraq's Governing Council, said Sunday that Saddam will be put on trial.

``Saddam will stand a public trial so that the Iraqi people will know his crimes,'' said Chalabi told Al-Iraqiya, a Pentagon-funded TV station.

Two other Iraqis were also arrested in the raid and two AK-47 assault rifles, a pistol and $750,000 in $100 bills were seized, Sanchez said.

Sanchez described Saddam's demeanor during the arrest, saying he seemed ``a tired man. Also I think a man resigned.''

Forces from the 4th Infantry Division along with Special Forces captured Saddam, the U.S. military said. There were no shots fired or injuries in the raid, called ``Operation Red Dawn,'' said Sanchez.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed Saddam's capture.

``This is very good news for the people of Iraq. It removes the shadow that has been hanging over them for too long of the nightmare of a return to the Saddam regime,'' he said in a statement released by his office.

In Baghdad, shop owners closed their doors, worried that all the shooting would make the streets unsafe.

``I'm very happy for the Iraqi people. Life is going to be safer now,'' said 35-year-old Yehya Hassan, a resident of Baghdad. ``Now we can start a new beginning.''

Earlier in the day, rumors of the capture sent people streaming into the streets of Kirkuk, a northern Iraqi city, firing guns in the air in celebration.

``We are celebrating like it's a wedding,'' said Kirkuk resident Mustapha Sheriff. ``We are finally rid of that criminal.''

``This is the joy of a lifetime,'' said Ali Al-Bashiri, another resident. ``I am speaking on behalf of all the people that suffered under his rule.''

In Tikrit, U.S. soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division, the unit that is responsible for security in Saddam's hometown, were smoking cigars after hearing the news of Saddam's capture.

Despite the celebration throughout Baghdad, many residents were skeptical.

``I heard the news, but I'll believe it when I see it,'' said Mohaned al-Hasaji, 33. ``They need to show us that they really have him.''

Ayet Bassem, 24, walked out of a shop with her 6-year-old son.

``Things will be better for my son,'' she said. ``Everyone says everything will be better when Saddam is caught. My son now has a future.''

``This success brings closure to the Iraqi people. We now have final resolution. Saddam Hussein will never return to a position of power from which he can punish, terrorize, intimidate and exploit the Iraqi people as the did for more than 35 years,'' Sanchez said.

After invading Iraq on March 20 and setting up their headquarters in Saddam's sprawling Republican Palace compound in Baghdad, U.S. troops launched a massive manhunt for the fugitive leader, placing a $25 million bounty on his head and sending thousands of soldiers to search for him.

Saddam's sons Qusai and Odai - each with a $15 million bounty on their heads - were killed July 22 in a four-hour gunbattle with U.S. troops in a hideout in the northern city of Mosul. The bounties were paid out to the man who owned the house where they were killed, residents said.

A Governing Council member, Jalal Talabani, told Iran's official news agency, IRNA, that Saddam's detention will bring stability to Iraq.

``With the arrest of Saddam, the source financing terrorists has been destroyed and terrorist attacks will come to an end. Now we can establish a durable stability and security in Iraq,'' Talabani was quoted as saying.


Saddam Hussein captured in Tikrit, U.S. says

Initial Tests Show Captured Man Is Saddam


By JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - After three decades of war, defiance and ruthlessness, Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s freedom ended without a single shot. Shortly after soldiers pulled an aged, bearded Saddam from a makeshift cellar, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was delivering the news of the prized capture to President Bush (news - web sites).


The anticlimatic end to a nine-month search for the dictator instantly changed the politics of Iraq back in America, where a top Democratic congressman hailed the news.


"The capture of Saddam Hussein will clearly take the wind out of the sails of the Baath insurgents," said Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., the senior Democrat of the House Armed Services Committee. "I think the road to a more stable Iraq is much clearer as a result of this capture."


U.S. defense officials said Saddam acknowledged his identity while he was being pulled from the hole Saturday night. Two others captured in the raid with him, were less consequential members of Saddam's old regime, the officials said.


Though the raid occurred Saturday afternoon American time, U.S. officials went to great length to keep it quiet until medical tests and DNA testing confirmed Saddam's identity.


Rumsfeld first called Bush Saturday afternoon before the president left his Camp David retreat to inform him of the raid. Around 5 a.m. Sunday, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) called Bush again to say the person in custody had been confirmed to be Saddam.


U.S. officials said the next few days and weeks will be momentous. Though Saddam's was politely talking and cooperating after his capture, officials have yet to begin the process of intensive intelligence debriefings.


One of the key issues interrogators will pursue with Saddam is how much control he has had over the Iraqi insurgents who have struck repeatedly with car bombs and grenade attacks, killing scores of coalition soldiers. They'll want to learn how such attacks are organized and funded, officials said Sunday.


Intelligence officials also want to make sure the information that led to Saddam's capture wasn't the result of an inner power struggle within the insurgency. One remote possibility, not confirmed, was that other leaders of attacks wanted Saddam out of the way to continue with their own strategy, officials said.


Bush administration officials also must decide when or whether to turn over Saddam to a special war crimes tribunal set up by the Iraqis last week.


When soldiers took him into custody, all that was left of Saddam's vast empire were a few guns, and some American money.


His disheveled, aged appearance and lack of fight left soldiers uncertain at first that they had the man they had come to capture in the darkness of Saturday night, officials said.


A medical exam quickly confirmed Saddam had been captured. Americans awoke Sunday morning to definitive proof — television footage of Saddam being examined by an Iraqi doctor.


Acting on raw intelligence Saturday, about 600 soldiers from the 4th Infantry and special forces troops waited for the cover of night to raid two locations in the rural area around Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, officials said.


Initially, they came up empty and then cordoned off the scene to do a more thorough search.


In a rudimentary farm building on the grounds of one of the targeted sites, the troops found "a spider hole" that led to a small cellar room — measuring 6-feet by 8-feet, where Saddam was hiding, officials said.


"He was in a cellar of the building. His appearance was such that it made it not immediately certain you could say it was Saddam Hussein," one senior U.S. official familiar with the raid said.





Saddam's capture will be seen as a defining moment in the Iraq war and subsequent rebuilding process, and Bush administration officials have hoped it would lessen or break the organized resistance against U.S. troops that have led to scores of deaths since the end of combat operations.

Saddam proved elusive at least twice during the war, when dramatic military strikes came up empty in their efforts to assassinate him. Since then, he has appeared in both video and audio tapes. U.S. officials named him No. 1 on their list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis, the lead card in a special deck of most-wanted cards.

But U.S. officials struck a major blow earlier this year when they killed Saddam's two sons during a raid.

Still, Saddam and his uncanny ability to survive kept him out of U.S. custody for more than six months after the war started. Within hours of the air strike designed to kill at the start of the war in March, Saddam defiantly appeared on television and urged Iraqis to resist the U.S. invasion.

But worn by three decades of war and tension, the once-mighty Iraqi army folded quickly and U.S. officials took control of the country quicker than they expected.

Since then, loyalists led by remnants of Saddam's paramilitary Fedayeen unit have begun operating like insurgent terrorists, using car bombings and grenade attacks to impose casualties.