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Saddam Hussein was captured in a farmhouse cellar near his hometown of Tikrit on
Saturday, December 13.
The capture was a major victory for the coalition forces in Iraq, and has been on everyone's
minds for months.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer said at a
news conference in Baghdad, adding: "The tyrant is a prisoner."
Hussein, former Iraqi president, was captured alive Saturday, December 13, at
8:30 p.m. in the town of Dour. This ended one of the most intense manhunts
in history.
The top U.S. military commander in Iraq, who saw Saddam overnight, said the
deposed leader "has been cooperative and is talkative." He described Saddam as
"a tired man, a man resigned to his fate."
In the capital, radio stations played celebratory music, residents fired small
arms in the air in celebration and passengers on buses and trucks shouted, "They
got Saddam! They got Saddam!"
Iraqis in the southern city of Nasiriyah sprayed soft drinks Sunday to celebrate
the capture of Saddam Hussein.
At the news conference announcing his capture, U.S. forces aired a video showing
a bearded Saddam being examined by a doctor who held his mouth open with a
tongue depressor, apparently to get a DNA sample. Then they showed a photograph
of Saddam after he was shaved.
A spokesman for the Iraqi Governing Council said DNA tests had confirmed
Saddam's identity.
Iraqi journalists in the audience stood, pointed and shouted, "Death to Saddam!"
and "Down with Saddam!"
Saddam was being held at a secret location, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez
disclosed, he added that U.S. authorities had yet to determine whether to hand
him over to a new Iraqi tribunal for trial.
According to CNN.com, Adnan Pachaci, a member of the Iraqi Governing
Council, said Saddam would be tried by Iraqis for his crimes against Iraqis.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed the 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.
"This fear is now removed," the statement continued. "It also gives an
opportunity for Saddam to be tried in Iraqi courts for his crimes against the
Iraqi people. We should try now to unite the whole of Iraq in rebuilding the
country and offering it a new future."
Blair added, "I pay tribute to the work of the coalition intelligence and
military forces in capturing him."
The prime minister faced substantial domestic opposition for his decision to
commit British troops to the Iraq war and is sure to get a major political boost
from the reported capture.
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," Sanchez said.
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.
Two men "affiliated with Saddam Hussein" were detained with him, and soldiers
confiscated two Kalashnikov rifles, a pistol, a taxi and US $750,000 in $100
bills, Sanchez said.
U.S. commanders have said Saddam played some role in the anti-U.S.
resistance that has killed hundreds of soldiers and civilians in Iraq.
"We are celebrating like it's a wedding," Kirkuk resident Mustapha Sheriff said.
"We are finally rid of that criminal."
"This is the joy of a lifetime," Ali Al-Bashiri, another resident,
said. "I am
speaking on behalf of all the people that suffered under his rule."
Despite the celebration throughout Baghdad, many residents were skeptical.
"I heard the news, but I'll believe it when I see it," Mohaned al-Hasaji,
33, said. "They need to show us that they really have him."
I'll be watching this story, and hopefully you will too.
Firecat
Some of my sources:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3708151/
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/14/sprj.irq.main/index.html
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