Saddam Hussein Captured: Operation Red Dawn Succeeds
He was in a hole. Eight feet deep, just big enough to lie down in. Beard overgrown, $750,000 in cash stacked beside him, two AK-47s he never fired. The man who once commanded the world's fourth-largest army surrendered without a shot to soldiers who'd been hunting him for eight months. His spider hole had a fan, a vent pipe, and styrofoam blocks concealing the entrance. When they pulled him out, he looked confused. A doctor checked his teeth and hair for lice. "I am Saddam Hussein," he said in English. "I am the president of Iraq and I want to negotiate." The soldier replied: "President Bush sends his regards."
December 13, 2003
23 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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