Iraq

For Bush, capture a guarded victory

WASHINGTON - A restrained President Bush called the capture of Saddam Hussein "the end of a dark and painful era" but cautioned that the United States will still face opposition.

"The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq," Bush said Sunday afternoon in a four-minute address from the White House. "We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent 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."

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld notified Bush about the capture at 3:15 p.m. Saturday while the president was at Camp David, Md., said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. Rumsfeld cautioned that first reports are not always accurate but said U.S. troops thought they had him.

When Bush asked how they knew it was Hussein, Rumsfeld said there were "identifying marks" that indicated they had the 66-year-old former leader.

Bush notified Vice President Dick Cheney and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. Bush kept his schedule and returned to the White House Saturday evening.

About 5 a.m. Sunday, as Bush was waking up in the White House, Rice called him with confirmation that it was Hussein. Bush then spoke with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and with Adnan Pachachi, the acting president of the Iraqi Governing Council.

In his address to the nation, Bush said the arrest "marks the end of the road for (Hussein), and for all who bullied and killed in his name. For the Baathist holdouts largely responsible for the current violence, there will be no return to the corrupt power and privilege they once held. For the vast majority of Iraqi citizens who wish to live as free men and women, this event brings further assurance that the torture chambers and the secret police are gone forever."

The stunning news of Hussein's arrest left Democrats sputtering and provided a boost to Bush's re-election campaign. After being criticized for his May 1 "Mission Accomplished" event on an aircraft carrier, Bush can now point to the jailed Iraqi leader as a symbol of U.S. success.

"It certainly reinforces his image as a persistent, dogged leader who sees things through to the end," said U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow. "Even when the nervous nellies and the pollsters are getting a little shaky, he is rock solid."

"This is a big victory," said Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia. "Bush is very consistent with most policies. He sticks to his guns. When they pay off, he can take full credit for them. He stayed with the program when the going was tough."

Sabato said Bush is now a clear favorite for re-election, but Sabato and other analysts said things could swing dramatically in either direction in the 11 months before the election.

Mark Rozell, chairman of the political science department at Catholic University in Washington, said "capturing Hussein - or capturing bin Laden - does not end the difficulties in the Middle East and does not end suicide bombings or terrorism. There will continue to be casualties and there will continue to be questions about the U.S. role in Iraq."

Bush cautioned: "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."

The arrest of Hussein follows several weeks of good news for the president and his re-election campaign. The economy is beginning to rebound, Congress has created a Medicare drug program and Bush's poll ratings have been going up.

"When the chips are down, it just seems like the tide turns in his direction," said Craig Crawford, an MSNBC political commentator and columnist for Congressional Quarterly, a sister company of the St. Petersburg Times.

Crawford said the good news might have arrived too early.

"The timing is such that it is a year away from the election and it will not have the impact that it would have closer to the election," he said.

Crawford said the arrest could also complicate the situation for Bush because "it really will increase pressure on the president to pull out. A lot of Americans will say, "Job well done, let's come home.' "

Putnam, the Republican lawmaker, said it's an important partial victory.

"It's still not mission accomplished because you will continue to have some resistance," he said. "But the mission was regime change and now you have categorically changed the regime and can try the former dictator" in court.

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