Governor Dean Reacts to Saddam Hussein's Capture

Governor Dean issued the following statement in reaction to the weekend's events:

This is a great day for the Iraqi people, the US, and the international community.

Our troops are to be congratulated on carrying out this mission with the skill and dedication we have come to know of them.

This development provides an enormous opportunity to set a new course and take the American label off the war. We must do everything possible to bring the UN, NATO, and other members of the international community back into this effort.

Now that the dictator is captured, we must also accelerate the transition from occupation to full Iraqi sovereignty.

And the New York Times contends that the capture of Saddam Hussein could make the opposition by certain Democrats, such as Governor Dean, to the war in Iraq a moot point.

It could force Dr. Dean, Democrats said, to deal with a stronger incumbent in next year's general election, should the capture prove the turning point Mr. Bush has sought in the war. It could also lead to challenges from newly emboldened Democratic candidates who supported the war, who see an opportunity to attack Dr. Dean on his antiwar stance, the issue on which he has built his candidacy.

When asked whether he thought Hussein's capture would effect his run for president,

[Dr. Dean] refused to speculate on what it might mean for the presidential campaign or his own candidacy. "This is a day to celebrate the fact that Saddam's been caught. We'll have to wait to see what happens to the campaign later."

And at a fund-raiser on Sunday evening in San Francisco, a center of of the antiwar movement, Dr. Dean assured the crowd of 1,800 people that he was not bowed by the news from abroad.

"He is a bad person and we are all better off with him in captivity, but you should know that my views on Iraq have not changed one bit," he said to a standing ovation. "Some people said, `Oh, Saddam Hussein, he's caught, now the whole campaign's going to go away.' I don't think so."

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