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BAGHDAD - Saddam Hussein should have put up a fight or committed suicide, stunned Iraqis said Sunday after watching images of their fallen leader, haggard and humiliated, in American custody.
As news of his capture spread across the country, celebratory shooting erupted in Baghdad's streets, soldiers cheered and victims of his tyranny thanked the United States. Many said it marked a new beginning for Iraq.
For some, his capture was a blow to hopes for Hussein's return, and his peaceful surrender was seen as a stain on Arab honor.
"He swore before the war that Iraqis would fight America, and then he didn't fire a single shot," said Kassem Shelshul, a 28-year-old chauffeur living in Baghdad. "We expected him to commit suicide or resist."
It was a publicly humiliating end to a leader who for 30 years presented himself to his people only in monumental terms. Though U.S. officials said Hussein had a pistol with him when he was caught, he didn't use it.
Iraqis were shocked the man they feared for three decades was found hiding in a hole and gave up without a fight.
"For the last 35 years Saddam Hussein presented himself as a lion against the Americans and the West and now today they found him like a mouse," said Laad Hamadi, an Iraqi civil engineer. "He didn't fight for his country. He didn't even fight for himself."
Others were glad he didn't die a martyr.
"He killed my son Mohammed and he tortured his people," 40-year-old Halem al-Jassen said. "Thank God for the United States."
In the Kurdish city of Kirkuk in the north, eight people were killed and 80 wounded from gunfire during celebrations.
And the cheerful Iraqi reaction extended to the Rocky Mountains, as four members of Baghdad's city council had just arrived in Colorado to start a tour of U.S. cities and lessons in democracy. Council member Abdul Ghani Al-Husaini called the capture a lesson for mankind: "This is what happens to cowards and dictators," he said.
But for Hussein's supporters, the day was one of loss.
Safa al-Douri, a 36-year-old grocery store owner in Dawr, the town where Hussein was captured, said it was too painful to watch the video.
"I could not stand looking at him. When I heard the news of his arrest it was as though somebody told me my father had died," he said. "But when I saw his face, it was even worse."
After two hours of celebrations, worried shopkeepers in the capital hurried to close their businesses early and get home before the shooting increased.
In Mosul, where attacks on Americans have been particularly intense over the past two months, Noha Fakhri wanted to cry.
"I love Saddam," she said. "I had hope that he might return to power, but now I know he won't."
And the residents of Dawr promised revenge, speaking openly within earshot of about two dozen soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division.
"I believe it's true because I feel so sad, like I lost one of my family members," said Raid Sami Hussein, 21. "The arrest of Saddam Hussein is something sad for all Iraqis and the resistance to the Americans will become even greater after this incident. ... If they get one Saddam, 20-million Saddams will grow in his place."
- Information from the Washington Post was used in this report.