BAGHDAD — Iraqis jammed the streets of Baghdad on Sunday, honking horns, waving flags and firing pistols in a display of emotion over the capture of a dictator who had gripped them in both fear and fascination for more than a generation.
But as the initial shock of Saddam Hussein's arrest wore off and Iraqis caught their first televised glimpse of the man many had secretly imagined to be defiantly waging a resistance campaign from some palatial underground command center, the sight of the scraggly, broken captive hit many of them like a slap.
Hussein's capture in a grubby root cellar with only two inconsequential guards nearby stunned a people long indoctrinated to believe their leader was American imperialism's worst nightmare.
Many expressed the hope that Iraqis could now move on to building a free and prosperous society.
"I am an old man now. My youth was confiscated by Saddam," said Abu Faleh, a 60-year-old security guard. "But I can rejoice for my sons that he has been arrested. Now their futures will be better than mine."
Some simply vented their anger and disgust with Hussein. But others warned that Iraq would not progress until the Americans left.
"The American soldiers dragged him from beneath a pile of vegetables. He didn't even resist," said a disgusted Ali bin Hussein, who had been punished by the tyrant because of his support for restoration of the monarchy. "He was found hiding like a rat."
The glee of Muhanad Mohammed, 40, was likewise tainted by the image seen around the world of the deposed Iraqi leader submitting to an oral exam by a medic wearing white surgical gloves.
"When I saw and heard about the way he was captured, I was ashamed," Mohammed said. "He should have fought to the death or committed suicide on the spot. Even a cornered cat would have put up a fight."
As 37-year-old Ali Farhad, a leather factory owner, watched the videotape of an unwashed and cooperative Hussein that was shown repeatedly on coalition-run TV, he bore a look of revulsion. "He never shot a single bullet," Farhad said in disbelief. "He always cast himself as the big enemy of Americans. But the truth is, he is a coward."
Many residents of Baghdad, which is faring better than many of the provinces under occupation, cheered the U.S.-led coalition for delivering their hated former leader to face justice. Some broke down in tears, overcome with emotion and the idea that a future in freedom and democracy had just become more likely.
