Leaders hope arrest helps clear the path to peace in Iraq

But some leaders and international human-rights groups were quick to cite the end of the massive manhunt for Hussein as an impetus for the United States to end its military occupation of Iraq and to push for a swifter transfer of power to the Iraqi people.

Washington, however, saw Hussein's arrest as much-needed leverage for a diplomatic push that begins today to draw more international financial aid for Iraq's reconstruction.

Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain was the first world leader to confirm reports out of Baghdad of Hussein's capture early yesterday.

"Where his rule meant terror and division and brutality, let his capture bring about unity, reconciliation, and peace," said Blair, who risked much of his political future to support the invasion of Iraq even though many Britons were staunchly opposed to the war. "Saddam is gone from power. He won't be coming back. That, the Iraqi people now know, and it is they who will decide his fate."

France, which led opposition to the invasion of Iraq, contending it was a unilateral rush to war before a broad international coalition had been established, said it hoped Hussein's capture would help stabilize the country and lead to its sovereignty.

"It's a major event that should strongly contribute to democracy and stability in Iraq and allow the Iraqis to master their destiny," President Jacques Chirac of France said in a statement.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of Germany, who also opposed the invasion of Iraq, sent a message of congratulations to President Bush.

"With much happiness, I learned about the arrest of Saddam Hussein," Schroeder wrote in the message, which was released by the German government. "I congratulate you on this successful action."

The capture of Hussein in what US forces called a "spider hole" outside a mud hut near his hometown of Tikrit coincides with a pivotal diplomatic mission by the United States to European capitals, where they will be seeking to build a wider base of support for the task of rebuilding postwar Iraq.

Veteran diplomat James Baker is set to travel today to Europe to persuade European leaders, including Chirac, to relieve Iraq of its estimated $120 billion in past debt.

Political analysts and diplomats in Europe said Hussein's capture would be a boon to Baker in his task, which had been complicated by Washington's announcement last week that it would not allow countries who opposed the war to share in roughly $18 billion of US-funded contracts for rebuilding.

Former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix, whose UN teams found no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq before the war began, said Hussein should be able to shed light on what is widely seen as the central question in the aftermath of the war -- if such weapons existed, where are they? "He ought to know quite a lot and be able to tell the story, and we all want to get to the bottom of the barrel," Blix said. "I'm sure the US will talk to him about that."

For European leaders who supported the war against the wishes of a majority of their constituencies, the question of weapons of mass destruction could have a great deal to do with their respective political fates.

Blair delivered a hard sell on this war to the skeptical British public, saying the regime's production and stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction posed an imminent threat to world security. The core of his argument was built around intelligence contending that Hussein had the capacity to unleash chemical and biological weapons "within 45 minutes" of an order to do so.

Next month Blair is expected to face a tough challenge to his rule when a judicial inquiry releases its conclusion of a lengthy examination into whether 10 Downing Street knowingly exaggerated intelligence assessments, particularly the "45-minute" claim, to make its case for war.

Recognizing the opportunity to shape the message of the significance of Hussein's capture, Blair, who was first notified of the arrest early yesterday morning, said at a hastily called press briefing, "Let us lay one myth to rest today. We have a common interest, coalition forces and Iraqi people. Our purpose is a shared purpose, our victory a shared victory."

The Spanish government, which also supported the war despite widespread opposition at home, also hailed the news.

"The time has come for him to pay for his crimes," said Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, an outspoken supporter of the US-led invasion. "He is responsible for the killing of millions of people over the last 30 years. He is a threat . . . to the entire world."

A spokesman for the United Nations, which withdrew its international staff from Iraq after the Aug. 19 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, said he hoped Hussein's capture would restore stability and allow the UN to continue playing a part in the rebuilding of Iraq.

Despite the praise over Hussein's capture, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer of Germany reiterated a widely held sentiment in European capitals that Washington should move faster to end the occupation of Iraq and transfer power to the Iraqi people. "This important success offers the chance to speed up the handover of sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government to increase stability in Iraq," Fischer said.

Material from the Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.