World Leaders Congratulate U.S. on Capture of Saddam

 British Prime Minister Tony Blair said, ”This is very good news for the people of Iraq.”

“It removes the shadow that has been hanging over them for too long of the nightmare of a return to the Saddam regime.”

In a televised address broadcast early Sunday afternoon, local time, Blair said the capture should help quell opposition to coalition efforts to rebuild the war-torn nation and that a full trial would build unity within the fractious Iraqi population. He said Saddam should be “tried in Iraqi courts for his crimes against the Iraqi people.”

Just days ago, Iraq’s interim government created a special tribunal to try Saddam and other Baath Party members for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Spain, another coalition member which had a hard time convincing its public that the Iraq War was the best course of action, also cheered the capture.

“It is a great day for humankind,” said Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio. “The horrible shadow of this bloody dictator is going to vanish.”

European countries that did not support the war also offered congratulations. The office of French President Jacques Chirac released a statement calling the capture a “major event that should strongly contribute to democracy and stability in Iraq and allow the Iraqis to master their destiny.”

In a letter addressed to President Bush and released to the German press, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder congratulated the U.S “on this successful action.”

“Saddam Hussein caused horrible suffering to his people and the region. I hope the capture will help the international community’s effort to rebuild and stabilize Iraq,” he wrote.

In the Middle East, the government of Jordan said it hoped the capture would lead to new security for the Iraqi people.

“What the Jordanian government cares about is the safety and security of the Iraqi people and the restoration of political stability in that brotherly Arab nation,” Asma Khader, a state minister and the government spokeswoman, told The Associated Press.

ABC News reported that the government of Saudi Arabia was “very pleased” with the development.

Iran, which fought a bloody battle against Saddam in the 1980s, welcomed the chance to try the fallen leader.

“Saddam should be prosecuted because of the crimes he has committed against the Iraqi and Iranian people,” Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi said.

In Afghanistan, where 500 delegates of the loya jirga are meeting to debate a new constitution, officials said the capture would improve the security situation by dampening the morale and recruiting ability of anti-Western militant groups.

“What happens in Iraq is also something to do with the situation in Afghanistan. Since the war in Iraq, the terrorist organizations have tried to open a new front in Afghanistan, so any failure of terrorism in Iraq is going to effect the situation in Afghanistan,” Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali told The Associated Press.