White House: Saddam Loyalists Likely to Fight On
Sun December 14, 2003 08:35 AM ET
By Adam Entous
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a major coup for President Bush and his beleaguered Iraq campaign, White House officials said on Sunday Saddam Hussein's capture should help lift the "blanket of fear" over the country but probably not end the guerrilla insurgency claiming U.S. lives.
Bush was told early on Sunday morning at the White House that U.S. troops hadcaptured Saddam near his home town of Tikrit. Aides said he might offer public comments later in the day.
"The message to the Iraqi people is that the blanket of fear is beginning to lift," a senior White House official said.
But the official added: "There are unfortunately still people in Iraq who have no future because their loyalties are to Saddam. We expect they will continue to fight to the death."
More than 300 U.S. soldiers have been killed in action since U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq in March to oust Saddam -- nearly 200 of them in guerrilla attacks since Bush declared major combat over on May 1.
Bush canceled his trip to church on Sunday. Aides attributed the decision to the heavy overnight snow
blanketing the nation's capital rather than to the surprise news of Saddam's capture.
The president was first informed of the capture of Saddam on Saturday afternoon while he was at the presidential retreat of Camp David, and returned to the White House for the night.
National security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, updated him shortly after 5 a.m. (1000 GMT) Sunday.
Capturing Saddam represents a major victory for the president, who is seeking reelection next year. The invasion of Iraq failed to produce weapons of mass destruction, Bush's main justification for going to war, and triggered a bloody guerrilla insurgency.
While clearly elated, White House officials sought to temper their enthusiasm and administration officials doubted the guerrilla insurgency underway in Iraq would end any time soon.
Violence against U.S. forces, in fact, surged in the months after the ousted Iraqi dictator's sons, Uday and Qusay, were killed in a gunbattle with American troops in July.
U.S. officials have also said al Qaeda has been active against U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden remains at large and is believed to be plotting new attacks.
reuters.com |
