Capture of Saddam Hussein
[5] Between July and December 2003, JSOC's Task Force 121 carried out twelve unsuccessful raids to find Saddam, together with 600 other operations against targets, including 300 interrogations.Then, as the operators were finishing and the helicopters called in to extract them, one soldier kicked a piece of flooring to one side, exposing a spider hole; he prepared to throw a grenade into it – in case it led to an insurgent tunnel system – when suddenly Saddam appeared.Abtahi joined the call for justice, adding, "Iranians have suffered much, because of him, and [the] mass graves in Iraq prove the crimes he has committed against the Iraqi people"."The capture of Saddam will not save the U.S. from the world's condemnation for supporting the greater enemy, Israeli P.M. Ariel Sharon", said Selim Al-Hoss, ex-Lebanese Prime Minister.Palestine: Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's government had no comment; however Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, a senior Hamas leader, said the U.S. would "pay a very high price for the mistake" of capturing Saddam.Afghanistan: The Afghan government welcomed news of the capture of Saddam, deeming it a warning to opposition leaders such as Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar.South China Morning Post editorialized: "With Hussein's capture, Iraqis can at last begin to close this brutal and tragic chapter in their history."Powell told Sinha that the capture would bring "a change in the existing situation and lead to greater respect for the Iraqi Governing Council."Iraqis should "be given the right to decide on the manner and procedure of bringing Saddam Hussein to face justice," said Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, head of the Non-Aligned Movement.Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar expressed hope that the capture of Saddam Hussein would contribute towards bringing peace and stability in Iraq and the surrounding region and stated that the United Nations should now play a bigger role in achieving this objective.Republic of China (Taiwan): An hour after U.S. announced the capture, President Chen Shui Bian congratulated the U.S. for what he called "a big victory".Belgium: The Flemish-language newspaper De Standaard editorialized that "Showing degrading pictures of a prisoner, even if he was a cruel tyrant, does not increase the moral authority of those who overpowered him."Vatican City: Top Curia official Renato Martino, a cardinal deacon and President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, attacked the way Saddam was treated by his captors, saying he had been dealt with like an animal.Russia: Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said, "We think the arrest of Saddam Hussein will contribute to the strengthening of security in Iraq and to the process of political regulation in the country with the active participation of the United Nations."United Kingdom: Prime Minister Tony Blair, President George W. Bush's strongest ally in the Iraq War, called the capture good news for Iraqis, saying: "It removes the shadow that has been hanging over them for too long of the nightmare of a return to the Saddam regime."Kenya: The newspaper People Daily wrote, "The capture of deposed Iraq leader Saddam Hussein is, no doubt, a major victory for the United States and the coalition of the willing, chief among which is Britain.The graphic depicts Hussein as a small red figure lying on its back in a spider hole, also highlighting other features of the hiding place including an air vent, fan, and entrance hidden by rubble.[23][24] The simple shape of the design later became subject to pareidolia online, with examples of the graphic's likeness in foods and other products being reposted as memes on social media,[25][26] particularly on TikTok.
Iraq WarAd-DawrRaymond OdiernoJames HickeySteve RussellSaddam Hussein4th Infantry DivisionTask Force 121Delta ForceOutlineTimelineInvasion (2003)Umm QasrAl Faw1st BasraNasiriyahRaid on KarbalaHaditha Dam1st NajafNorthern DelayViking HammerSamawah1st KarbalaAl KutHillahKarbala GapDebecka PassBaghdadPost-invasion insurgency (2003–2006)Al AnbarKilling of Qusay & Uday Hussein1st RamadanLatifiyaSpring 2004City HallIron Saber1st FallujahSadr City1st RamadiGood FridayHusaybahDanny Boy2nd NajafCIMIC-HouseSamarra2nd FallujahLake ThartharAl Qa'imHadithaSteel CurtainTal Afar2nd RamadiTogether ForwardDiwaniyaCivil war (2006–2008)2nd RamadanSinbadAmarahDiyalaHaifa StreetKarbala Raid3rd NajafImposing LawU.K. basesBlack EagleBaghdad beltsAlljahBaqubahDonkey IslandShurta NasirPhantom Strike2nd KarbalaPhantom PhoenixInsurgency (2008–2011)2008 Day of AshuraNinevehSpring 20082nd Basra2008 al-Qaeda OffensiveAugurs of ProsperityAbu KamalPalm GroveCamp AshrafUS withdrawal violenceList of bombings during the Iraq War1st Baghdad2nd Baghdad3rd Baghdad1st Nasiriyah‡ 1st Erbil‡ Ashoura1st Mosul4th Baghdad5th BaghdadKarbala & Najaf1st BaqubahSuwaira bombing‡ 1st Al Hillah2nd Erbil‡ Musayyib6th Baghdad‡ 7th Baghdad1st BaladKhanaqin‡ Karbala-Ramadi1st Samarra8th Baghdad9th Baghdad‡ 10th Baghdad11th Baghdad12th Baghdad‡ 13th Baghdad14th Baghdad15th Baghdad‡ 2nd Al Hillah‡ 1st Tal Afar16th Baghdad17th Baghdad2nd & 3rd Karbala2nd Mosul‡ 18th BaghdadMakhmourAbu Sayda2nd Samarra19th Baghdad‡ Amirli