[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 51 (Monday, December 22, 2003)]
[Pages 1799-1800]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Address to the Nation on the Capture of Saddam Hussein

December 14, 2003

    Good afternoon. Yesterday, December the 13th, at around 8:30 p.m., 
Baghdad time, United States military forces captured Saddam Hussein 
alive. He was found near a farmhouse outside the city of Tikrit, in a 
swift raid conducted without casualties, and now the former dictator of 
Iraq will face the justice he denied to millions.
    The capture of this man was crucial to the rise of a free Iraq. It 
marks the end of the road for him and for all who bullied and killed in 
his name. For the Ba'athist holdouts largely responsible for the current 
violence, there will be no return to the corrupt power and privilege 
they once held. For the vast majority of Iraqi citizens who wish to live 
as free men and women, this event brings further assurance that the 
torture chambers and the secret police are gone forever.
    And this afternoon, I have a message for the Iraqi people: You will 
not have to fear the rule of Saddam Hussein ever again. All Iraqis who 
take the side of freedom have taken the winning side. The goals of our 
coalition are the same as your goals: Sovereignty for your country; 
dignity for your great culture; and for every Iraqi citizen, the 
opportunity for a better life. In the history of Iraq, a dark and 
painful era is over. A hopeful day has arrived. All Iraqis can now come 
together and reject violence and build a new Iraq.
    The success of yesterday's mission is a tribute to our men and women 
now serving in Iraq. The operation was based on the superb work of 
intelligence analysts who found the dictator's footprints in a vast 
country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a 
brave fighting force. Our service men and women and our coalition allies 
have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime and 
in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. Their 
work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the Nation, I 
thank the members of our Armed Forces, and I congratulate them.
    I also have a message for all Americans: The capture of Saddam 
Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq. We still face 
terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent than accept the 
rise of liberty in the heart of the Middle East. Such men are a direct 
threat to the American people, and they will be defeated.
    We've come to this moment through patience and resolve and focused 
action, and that is our strategy moving forward. The war on terror is a 
different kind of war, waged

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capture by capture, cell by cell, and victory by victory. Our security 
is assured by our perseverance and by our sure belief in the success of 
liberty, and the United States of America will not relent until this war 
is won.
    May God bless the people of Iraq, and may God bless America. Thank 
you.

Note: The President spoke at 12:15 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White 
House. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of this address.