Free Republic

LONDON (AP) — World leaders including the Iraq war's most prominent opponents welcomed Saddam Hussein's capture, saying it brought a long-awaited end to the career of a brutal dictator and could mark the beginning of peace in Iraq. The U.S. military announced that a bearded Saddam was detained without resistance in a hole on a farm near his hometown of Tikrit, ending one of the most intense manhunts in history. "Where his rule meant terror and division and brutality, let his capture bring about unity, reconciliation and peace," Prime Minister Tony Blair said. "Saddam is gone from power. He won't...

TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqis at the hometown of Saddam Hussein are in sombre mood after news of his arrest, but U.S. troops in the town are jubilant. While most Iraqis in other parts of Iraq rejoiced after hearing Saddam was arrested by U.S. forces just south of Tikrit, residents of the town near where Saddam was born clearly thought his arrest on Sunday was the result of betrayal and a major blow. "Today is the day that Iraq was defeated not in April," Hamid, a barber, told Reuters in Tikrit. U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam in April and forced him...

Iraqis celebrated the capture of fallen dictator Saddam Hussein in traditional style, blasting away with their favourite weapons pointed to the skies and folk dancing in the streets. As news spread across the country that ex-president Saddam Hussein had been captured alive near his hometown Tikrit, prolonged bursts of gun fire, automatic weapons, pistols and heavier calibres filled the air in Baghdad. "It's a great joy for the Iraqi people because a great dictator has been arrested," interim Governing Council member Mahmud Othman told AFP. In central Fardous Square, people threw old bank notes bearing Saddam's face into the air....

RAMALLAH, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Disbelief and gloom seized many Palestinians on Sunday at news of Saddam Hussein's capture as Israel fired off a telegram of congratulations to Washington. The former Iraqi ruler was a hero to many Palestinians for his stand against Israel and its U.S. ally, as well as for helping families of Palestinians dead in an uprising. For Israel, he was a menace over the horizon who long bankrolled the enemy. "It's a black day in history," said Sadiq Husam, 33, a taxi driver in Ramallah, West Bank seat of the Palestinian Authority. "I am saying so...

The capture of Saddam Hussein is actually bad news for U.S. troops serving in Iraq. That's the bizarre assessment from former Clinton administration counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke, who said Sunday morning that the Iraqi dictator's arrest may only exacerbate opposition to U.S. occupation forces. "I don't think it's going to have a near term positive effect on security," Clarke told ABC's "This Week." Ignoring reports that Saddam was bankrolling insurgents in Iraq, Clinton's terrorism czar insisted, "I think it's very likely that these cells [attacking U.S. troops] are fully autonomous, they're spread around the country and they haven't been getting...

Howard Dean: This arbitrary, unilateral capture will provoke more anti-American terror. Why weren't UN forces involved? It only highlights Bush's failure to capture Osama bin Laden.....

Special report coming at :08 after hour - US confirms