Saddam capture restores US prestige

SADDAM HUSSEIN’S capture lifted a huge political weight from President George W Bush after months of rising casualties and growing doubts about his handling of Iraq.

The pictures told the stark story of the victor and the vanquished: a triumphant Mr Bush proclaimed the end of a "dark and painful era" in Iraq, while a haggard-looking Saddam was being examined by a doctor who probed his mouth with a tongue depressor.

For months, Saddam's ability to remain at large despite one of the world's biggest manhunts had been a blow to US prestige and claims of progress in Iraq.