U.S. must catch Saddam — and soon, Clark says
By Susan Page, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Retired general Wesley Clark warned Sunday that the failure to capture Saddam Hussein was likely to undermine any new Iraqi government. And he said it was important to capture Saddam alive so he could be tried for war crimes.
Clark's comments, at a session with USA TODAY and Gannett News Service reporters and editors, came as the Bush administration was accelerating the turnover of civilian authority to Iraqis. Clark praised the decision as a move "in the right direction" but said no regime was likely to succeed if Saddam stayed on the lam.
"It's going to be very hard for the United States to turn the problem over to the Iraqis if Saddam is still there as the, we might say, illegitimate ruler," said Clark, a Democratic presidential contender. "It's going to make it very hard for an Iraqi government to survive." The Bush administration, under fire for a growing toll of U.S. casualties, agreed this weekend to turn over political control by July 1, regardless of Saddam's whereabouts.
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Clark said it was important to catch him alive: "I would hate to see us bust into a bunker and not be able to bring him out alive to stand trial. One of the things you really want to establish is rule of law. It's the essence of peacekeeping and stability operations."
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