When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

This Happened

This Happened—December 13: End Of The Road For The Butcher Of Baghdad

What happened today in history — in one iconic photograph: December 13 from Worldcrunch on Vimeo.

On this day, 19 years ago, Saddam Hussein was captured by the United States military in the town of Ad-Dawr, Iraq.

Sign up to receive This Happened straight to your inbox each day!

Why was the U.S. at war with Iraq?

In 2003, a coalition between the United States and British forces initiated war on Iraq to depose Saddam Hussein. U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair accused Iraq of possessing weapons of mass destruction and Hussein having ties to al-Qaeda.

After having conquered Baghdad, the codenamed Operation Red Dawn continued to track down the Iraqi leader. The mission was executed by an elite and covert joint special operations team, and U.S. soldiers found Saddam Hussein hiding in a six-to-eight-foot deep “spider hole” after he'd spent nine months on the run.

What happened to Saddam Hussein after he was captured?

After his capture, Saddam's trial took place under the Iraqi Interim Government. On November 5, 2006, he was convicted of crimes against humanity related to the 1982 killing of 148 Iraqi Shi'a and sentenced to death by hanging. He was executed on December 30 of the same year.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Geopolitics

"Palestinians Don't Exist" — The Israeli Minister's Shock Declaration That Can't Be Unsaid

In a speech in Paris, Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's finance minister, denied the existence of the Palestinians, sparking angry reactions in Ramallah, Amman and Brussels. But Israel's extreme right is not afraid of provoking a violent crisis with the Palestinians.

​Photo of Israeli soldiers trying to chase away a Palestinian lady in the middle of the town of Hawara, after a shooting attack on a Jewish settler's car in the town, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli soldiers try to chase away a Palestinian lady in Hawara after a shooting attack on a Jewish settler's car in the town, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.

Pierre Haski

-Analysis-

PARIS — Bezalel Smotrich would like to set fire to the Palestinian Territories. This is not the first time the Israeli Minister of Finance has made such an inflammatory statement. But what he said on Sunday evening in Paris has provoked a strong reaction.

The far-right leader, who lives in a West Bank settlement and is now a minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, said what he was thinking: "The Palestinian people are an invention which is less than 100 years old. Do they have a history, a culture? No, they don't. There are no Palestinians. There are just Arabs."

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

The latest