POST-CAPTURE BUSH PRESS CONFERENCE
15 December 2003

President Bush today told the press that "there needs to be a public trial" of Saddam Hussein, with "Iraqi citizens" participating. On France and Germany, he said "We're constantly reaching out" and he "can understand" differences of opinion. To recenter discussion on cooperative ties, he cited agreement on Iran's alleged nuclear aspirations.

He said that in Saddam Hussein treated the UN "as an empty debating society" and that regarding North Korea, "We are reluctant to use military force; it's a last option, not a first." He dismissed questions about negotiating with Saddam Hussein for a public statement of some kind or for revelations about past behavior.

One of the soldiers who participated in the capture told a news crew today that Hussein's first words upon emerging from hiding were: "I am Saddam Hussein, the President of Iraq, and I am willing to negotiate."

Concern has already been voiced that a new Iraqi government could not adequately prosecute the crimes of which Hussein is accused, and that proceeding in such an environment might not meet international standards for due process. Some prominent Iraqis have expressed interest in allowing such a trial to be held in Iraq as a step toward democratization. [s]

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SADDAM HUSSEIN CAPTURED IN TIKRIT
14 December 2003

US occupation authorities have confirmed that Saddam Hussein was captured in a raid near his ancestral home of Tikrit. The New York Times reports he was captured without a shot fired, while "hiding in a hole below the farm house, located in the town of Adwar". Images of the beleagured, bearded fugitive dictator have been widely broadcast across network television and cable news networks. The Financial Times reports that "Nazem Dabag, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, early on Sunday was the first to tell the world of Saddam’s arrest". [Full Story]

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