SADDAM HUSSEIN: A STORY OF JUDGMENT

It was in the desert area of Iraq. Saddam Hussein was found in a small hole in the ground, hiding like a rat, curled up hoping to elude capture by the American troops. He was found near a farmhouse outside the city of Tikrit, in a swift raid conducted without casualties. And now the former dictator of Iraq has faced justice.

Bush said in his public address, "And this afternoon, I have a message for the Iraqi people: You will not have to fear the rule of Saddam Hussein ever again. All Iraqis who take the side of freedom have taken the winning side. In the history of Iraq, a dark and painful era is over. A hopeful day has arrived. All Iraqis can now come together and reject violence and build a new Iraq.

"I also have a message for all Americans: The capture of Saddam Hussein did not mean the end of violence in Iraq. We still faced terrorists went on killing the innocent rather than accept the rise of liberty in the heart of the Middle East. Such men are a direct threat to the American people, and they will be defeated.

"We came to that moment through patience and resolve and focused action. And that is our strategy moving forward. The war on terror is a different kind of war, waged capture by capture, cell by cell, and victory by victory. Our security is assured by our perseverance and by our sure belief in the success of liberty. And the United States of America will not relent until this war is won. May God bless the people of Iraq, and may God bless America. Thank you."