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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.

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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.

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Geopolitics

South Korea And Japan: Burying An Ugly Past To Counter China's Rise

South Korean President, Yoon Suk-yeol, made a gesture of reconciliation towards Japan, the country's former colonizer. It gives Washington hope that its two key Asian allies can overcome differences as they face an emboldened China and North Korea.

Photo of a 2019 Chinese military parade for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China

Chinese military parade for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China

Pierre Haski

-Analysis-

South Korea's leader President Yoon took advantage of the commemoration of a key date in the Japanese occupation of South Korea, March 1, 1919, to make an unequivocal statement: "Today, more than a century after the March 1 movement, Japan has transformed from a militaristic aggressor of the past into a partner with whom we share the same universal values."

It was an outstretched hand with no conditions attached.

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