STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
Today, Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial --
the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime.
Fair trials were unimaginable under Saddam Hussein's tyrannical rule.
It is a testament to the Iraqi people's resolve to move forward after
decades of oppression that, despite his terrible crimes against his own
people, Saddam Hussein received a fair trial. This would not have been
possible without the Iraqi people's determination to create a society
governed by the rule of law.
Saddam Hussein's execution comes at the end of a difficult year for
the Iraqi people and for our troops. Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice
will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on
Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and
defend itself, and be an ally in the War on Terror.
We are reminded today of how far the Iraqi people have come since the
end of Saddam Hussein's rule - and that the progress they have made
would not have been possible without the continued service and sacrifice
of our men and women in uniform.
Many difficult choices and further sacrifices lie ahead. Yet the
safety and security of the American people require that we not relent in
ensuring that Iraq's young democracy continues to progress.
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