BBC World and other news channels are saying that they are getting reports about Saddam Hussein being captured by Kurdish forces near his hometown, Tikrit.

No confirmations yet, though.

Iran's official news agency says Saddam has been detained in Iraq

By Associated Press, 12/14/2003 05:26

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been detained in Iraq, Iran's official news agency reported Sunday.

''Saddam Hussein was arrested in his hometown of Tikrit,'' IRNA quoted top Iraqi leader, Jalal Talabani as saying. It gave no further details.

Nazem Dabbagh, a representative of Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdestan, confirmed Talabani's statement when reached by phone Sunday by an Associated Press reporter in Tehran.

In Iraq, a separate rumor that Saddam was captured or killed near Tikrit sent hundreds of exultant people into the streets of this northern Iraqi city Sunday. They fired in the air in celebration and congratulated each other.

A spokeswoman for the U.S.-led occupation in Baghdad notified reporters that a ''very important'' announcement will be made at a news conference scheduled for 7 a.m. EST, but did not say who would be the speaker. The spokeswoman requested anonymity.

In Tikrit, rumors that the former dictator was in custody were making the rounds, but reporters attached to the 4th Infantry Division, the U.S. unit in charge of security in the area, said there was no unusual activity there overnight or early Sunday.

''We are celebrating like it's a wedding,'' said Mustapha Sheriff, a resident of Kirkuk. ''We are finally rid of that criminal.''

''This is the joy of a lifetime,'' said Ali Al-Bashiri, another Kirkuk resident. ''I am speaking on behalf of all the people that suffered under his rule.''

Saddam, who ruled Iraq for 23 years until his ouster in April, has been a fugitive since then with a $25 million bounty on his head.

Rumors about Saddam's capture or death periodically surface, and a hotline set up by the occupation authorities for tips on his whereabouts is flooded with callers.

Looks as if it is for real

They have just confirmed it!
Good now maybe those soldiers will be able to go home and end this awful war.
I hope he never makes it to trial. What a coward.
That's just my opinion.
PF

I hope he does make it to trial. A very long and very public trial seen by the Iraqi people might do a great deal for bringing about democracy there.

This is great!! I somehow find it hard to believe it's really him, since he has pulled so many tricks already, but it looks like they really got him.

So who's getting the bounty?

Well, so the US has shown a video of him, after his capture: http://wwwi.reuters.com/images/mdf427513.jpg

He's also undergoing a medical check...could be one of his dubious doubles!

They say a DNA test has been done. But what are they comparing the DNA to? Do they have a DNA sample of the real Saddam stored for this purpose?

Well looks like he has been captured, the pictures certainly look like him, mind you they also look like a drunk I used to see around Salford docks.

Now comes the interesting bit. If US military assertions are correct then the Iraqi resistance should now fade away without its leader. If however dissafection with the US led occupation is more general then it will continue.

Just a thought if President Hussein is still alive this means the USA murdered a restaurant full of innocent diners, in the absense of Hussein the deaths cannot even be justified as co-lateral damage. So what is the difference between a Palestinian suicide bomber who blows up a restaurant full of Israeli civilians and a US General who blows up one full of Iraqis civilians? The cost of a smart bomb?

It seems as though the United States government has captured Saddam. But wait...according to the United States government, wasn't he dead a few months ago? It seems to me that the United States government can't get its story straight.

Considering the fact that Saddam had x-amount of lookalikes in Iraq, who is to say that the person they've captured is the real Saddam? Before the war began, the United States government said that if he didn't leave Iraq in so many days (I think they said 3 days), that they would forcibly remove him.

Saddam ruled Iraq for 35 long years. The man is not stupid. Yet the United States government wants us to believe that he stayed in Iraq all this time? Give me a break!

Considering the fact that the United States government lied about the assassination of JFK, who's to say that they aren't lying about Saddam being captured alive? I personally wouldn't believe what the United States government told us, especially since they can't tell the truth about JFK's assassination. They can show all the DNA evidence and documented proof they want, and I won't believe it.

Also, do you really think that a man who ruled so many would submit to a medical exam so easily?

In my opinion, the man they've captured is a lookalike, and the real Saddam is hiding in another country.

The capture, if it proves to be him, will have an effect on the resistance as well as the general populous cowering from the years of actions of a brutal dictator.
But you can't forget the prize at stake for the resistance is the world's largest lottery, the ability to literally be God.
So anyone who thinks the resistance is going to quietly fade away is not realistic.
The resistance will only be strengthened every time the forces flinches. Every time a US Senator suggests we should not be there. Every time a US Presidential Candidate criticizes the administration's efforts to stabilize the country.

The capture of Sadism is not going to change the over all picture of politics by its self.
The direction of change will be decided by the ability of spin-doctors to spin the situation in favor of their own interest.
Jax

I just wanted to point out, in case anyone hadn't noticed, what great comedy some of the posts in this thread are.

I'm simply curious DN. Not trying to be a smarty, just asking a simple question, not trying to be rude. Is there anything at all in the US Government that you believe in or support?

I don't know if the man is truly Hussein. If it is, then I would certainly hope that he is held for trial so that the Iraqui citizens could see how many people he has summarily killed, which includes taking part in firing squads.

Just out of curiosity, Lisa, are you privy to some information that the rest of the world is not re: JFK's assassination?

Harish: I hope by the word "pitiful" you didn't mean: worthy of or inspiring pity or sympathy; pitiable. That may be asking a little too much. Instead I hope you meant: contemptible or insignificant; paltry

Yes, Jar, there are things that I believe in the US government. I believe in the Constitution. I believe in the Amendments.

I believe that the US government planned and executed the assassination of JFK, thus altering the government. I believe that Bush Junior fixed the election. I believe that our current president is no better than the man our government claims they've captured.

So yes, as you can see, I do believe.

Clara,

All one has to do is read the Warren Commission and look at the evidence. It's all there. Oswald was not the lone nut, as the US government claims. Oswald was a patsy, just as he said he was.

I believe that you do have strong opinions Dakota - and I respect you for that.

My apologies everyone for having gotten off topic.

I respect you for your opinions too, Jar.

I am also sorry for getting this thread off topic.

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Just a thought if President Hussein is still alive this means the USA murdered a restaurant full of innocent diners, in the absense of Hussein the deaths cannot even be justified as co-lateral damage. So what is the difference between a Palestinian suicide bomber who blows up a restaurant full of Israeli civilians and a US General who blows up one full of Iraqis civilians? The cost of a smart bomb?

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If you don't know the difference, it is because you refuse to see the difference. Take your ideologically-tinged glasses off and have an honest look at the world. Or perhaps the U.S. just borrowed a page from history and tried emulating the RAF's brutal bombing of Berlin in which they weren't even trying to get Hitler but rather just slaughter German civilians. But of course evil only comes from the unscrupulous U.S. government.

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I am however, like you, not convinced that this guy is the real Saddam. knowing the unscrupulous methods the US government is capable of.

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Be specific in regards to Iraq, please. U.S. soldiers have died by the dozens in an unprecedented effort to take measure that spare Iraqi civilian lives. And perhaps we can start a thread of comparative unscrupulousness by democratic governments.

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I believe that our current president is no better than the man our government claims they've captured.

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I understand that some people have an irrational hatred for Bush. I didn't care for his lying, molesting predecessor myself but statements such as the above cross the boundries of reason. Just wondering where Bush is hiding his mass graves containing hundreds of thousands of dead. Perhaps his torture chamber and rape rooms are concealed in his Texas ranch. And he probably rigged the election and won Gore's home state of Tennessee by dropping chemical weapons on those who opposed him. Or perhaps we will one day stumble upon his concentration/death camps and find millions of Yankee, city slickers exterminated. Yep, that Bush is Hitler and Hussien rolled into one.

1)

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I wrote: Just a thought if President Hussein is still alive this means the USA murdered a restaurant full of innocent diners, in the absence of Hussein the deaths cannot even be justified as co-lateral damage. So what is the difference between a Palestinian suicide bomber who blows up a restaurant full of Israeli civilians and a US General who blows up one full of Iraqis civilians? The cost of a smart bomb?

DieHard replied: If you don't know the difference, it is because you refuse to see the difference.

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Ah! You would subscribe to the philosophy which says MY rapacious, murderous thug is a noble champion of Democracy, YOUR rapacious, murderous thug is a Terrorist. No holes in your logic then.

2) Well according to the DNA tests it is indeed the President of Iraq which has been captured. In response to DNs earlier comments on possible fraud I think it is probably reasonable to assume the USA has administered a fair DNA test and that the Iraqis did not manage to pull a fast one with the tissue sample the USA now has in its possession but ... na probably a fair test.

3) I am now taking bets that President Hussein never goes to a 'full and fair' public trial unless a deal is done. Heaven forbid he should go before a similar Tribunal to the Yougoslavs/Slavs. Much more likely to be a shadowy Military Court. How long would the cameras roll when the defence got down to the nitty gritty?
Q1 Which US intelligence agency with the initials CI and A put/helped you into power?
Q2 Which UK Cos. sold you all that nice torture gear?
Q3 Which large superpower gave you sigint and satellite images of Iranian installation during the Iran-Iraq war?
and the list goes on.

DNA tests usually take a few days for an accurate reading. So I have to wonder if the DNA results that came back faster than a speeding bullet are accurate or fixed.

Also, you know what they say about assume. It's not right to assume anything, especially when it comes to Bush Junior.

I wonder if we could get information from Saddam with the use of one of his many torture chambers with some of his former victims at the controls.
I know,, it is just a fancy dream that he might reap what he sowed.

Lisa you are certainly entitled to your beliefs. But I hope you realize, to equate your President to one of the most brutal totalitarian dictators who ever lived, sounds a little far out to many. Are you just saying that because you hate Bush or do you really believe it?
Jax

I'm saying it because I strongly, strongly, strongly dislike him...to put it mildly.

There are several reasons for my feelings, which I will not get into.