Cave Dwellers Up: Saddam Captured
 

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Posted at 12:42 a.m., updated at 3:36 a.m., Sunday, December 14, 2003

Saddam captured

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.

During a news conference announcing Saddam Hussein's capture, U.S.
forces showed a video in which Saddam was examined by a doctor.

Associated Press

Top U.S. administrator in Iraq L. Paul Bremer speaks at a news
conference in Baghdad today in which he confirmed the capture of
former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein yesterday in a house near his
hometown of Tikrit, eight months after the fall of Baghdad.

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

Saddam was captured at 8:30 p.m. yesterday, Iraqi time, 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 six
to eight 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!"

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.
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 today 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.


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My personal feeling is -- it's great that they got the sucker,
but it ain't over yet.

-Dai Uy

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