The Jerusalem Post (www.jpost.com) reports that brave soldiers from the American army have captured the ex-President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. He was literally hiding like a rat in a hole when a unit of over 600 US soldiers got him - not one shot was fired:

US President George Bush, a winner, and Saddam Hussein, a mass murderer looser

"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," L. Paul Bremer, the US administrator for Iraq, said Sunday. "The tyrant is a prisoner." Saddam Hussein was captured alive near his hometown of Tikrit, Bremer said.

Speaking a few hours later, US President George W. Bush said Hussein will "face the justice he denied to millions." Locals say a farmer named Kais al-Namek betrayed the former Iraqi dictator.

"This is a great day in Iraqi history," Bremer said. "For decades, hundreds of thousands suffered at the hands of this cruel man. He threatened and attacked his neighbors. Those days are over forever." Calling out to the Iraqi people, Bremer said "Your future has never been more full of hope."

"Today is a great day for the democratic world," said [Israeli] Prime Minister Ariel Sharon after sending his blessings to US President Gearge W. Bush. "The whole world can now breath easier. The dictator who ruined Iraq can do no more harm."

On a personal note, Saddam Hussein is one of the few people that have directly threatened my life, when he fired dozens of missiles on Israeli cities in 1991, during the first Gulf war. Every day I had to run to the bomb shelter hoping that one of Saddam's "Scud" missiles did not blow me to pieces or did not contain gas or chemicals (Israel by the way never attacked Iraq or retaliated during the whole Gulf war). This is a happy day!

I copy the full article below.

SADDAM HUSSEIN CAPTURED ALIVE IN TIKRIT
By MATTHEW GUTMAN IN IRAQ, Dec. 14, 2003, Link

"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," L. Paul Bremer, the US administrator for Iraq, said Sunday. "The tyrant is a prisoner."

Saddam Hussein was captured alive near his hometown of Tikrit, Bremer said.

Speaking a few hours later, US President George W. Bush said Hussein will "face the justice he denied to millions."

Locals say a farmer named Kais al-Namek betrayed the former Iraqi dictator.

"This is a great day in Iraqi history," Bremer said. "For decades, hundreds of thousands suffered at the hands of this cruel man. He threatened and attacked his neighbors. Those days are over forever."

Calling out to the Iraqi people, Bremer said "Your future has never been more full of hope."

Poll: What should happen to Saddam Hussein now?

"Today is a great day for the democratic world," said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon after sending his blessings to US President Gearge W. Bush. "The whole world can now breath easier. The dictator who ruined Iraq can do no more harm."

Saddam was captured at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in a specially prepared "spider hole" in a house in Adwar, a town 16 kilometers from Tikrit, said Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top US military commander in Iraq. The hole was six to eight feet deep (about two meters), with enough space to lie down, camouflaged with bricks and dirt and supplied with an air vent to allow long periods inside.

Sanchez said that there was no resistance during the operation, named "Operation Red Dawn" - an operation designed "to kill or capture Saddam Hussein."

When captured, Saddam was cooperative, Sanchez said. "It was a cooperative posture he was presenting to us. He was a tired man, a man resigned to his fate," Sanchez said. Some 600 troops from the 4th Infantry Division, along with Special Forces, captured Saddam, the US military said. There were no shots fired or injuries in the raid, Sanchez said.

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. The two men were "fairly insignificant" regime figures, a US defense official said. "We're going to leave [Iraq] whenever we've accomplished our mission: to bring peace and stability to this country," Sanchez added.

Poll: What should happen to Saddam Hussein now?

President Moshe Katzav, on a state visit to China, said Sunday that the capture of Saddam "is an opening of hope for the free world."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed Hussein's capture, saying that it "removes the shadow" of his possible return from Iraq.

"Let his capture bring about unity, reconciliation and peace between all the people of Iraq," he said.

In a statement, Downing Street said that Hussein's capture "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."

Earlier, DNA tests confirmed that the suspect arrested in Tikrit was in fact Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraqi Governing Council said Sunday.

Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz sent a letter of congratulations to his American counterpart, Donald Rumsfeld, saying that the capture of the Iraqi dictator is "further proof that the nations of the free world, being led by the US President Bush, are determined to bring to justice any and all terrorist who are causing the world destruction and anarchy."

"The successful operation proves that the war against terrorism and its leaders demands steadfastness, patience and resilience, and a belief that our way is just and in the end will bring about the victory of the democratic world against the empire of darkness," Mofaz wrote Rumsfeld.

There were reports of widespread celebrations throughout Iraq upon hearing the news. In Baghdad, residents fired small arms in the air in celebration, and gunfire echoed in neighborhoods across the city. 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."

With News Agencies

Posted by David Melle
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