"He was just caught like a rat." — Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno, 4th Infantry Division commander
"In the history of Iraq, a dark and painful era is over. A hopeful day has arrived. All Iraqis can now come together and reject violence and build a new Iraq." — President Bush
"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him. . . . The tyrant is a prisoner." — U.S. Iraq administrator L. Paul Bremer
"He ought to stand trial for his life. They estimate that he has killed upward of 1 million people. They have found mass graves of 300,000." — Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah
"We didn't stay there long. It smelled really bad." — A soldier describing the mud hut and "spider hole" where Saddam was captured
"Death to Saddam! . . . Down with Saddam!" — shouted by Iraqi journalists at a news conference announcing Saddam's capture
"He was subservient and broken. . . . He was speaking as if he did not know what was going on around him." — Iraqi Governing Council member Mouwafak al-Rabii on Saddam
"He didn't seem apologetic. He seemed defiant, trying to find excuses for the crimes in the same way he did in the past." — Adel Abdel-Mahdi, a Shiite Muslim political party official who visited Saddam after his capture
"Where his rule meant terror and division and brutality, let his capture bring about unity, reconciliation and peace between all the people of Iraq." — British Prime Minister Tony Blair
"Saddam Hussein raised us. He's our father." — Sohayb Abdul-Rahman, a resident of the Adwar area, where Saddam was captured
"He was like a father to Iraqi people. He struggled and fought against Israel and others who would hurt us." — Mohammed Azawi, one of about 200 young men who gathered in Adhamiya to mourn Saddam's capture
"The millions he executed, it is like they are alive again." — Taha Faili, a biology professor at Ambar University
"We are celebrating like it's a wedding. . . . We are finally rid of that criminal." — Kirkuk resident Mustapha Sheriff
"Life is going to be safer now. . . . Now we can start a new beginning." — Baghdad resident Yehya Hassan
"Everyone says everything will be better when Saddam is caught. My son now has a future." — Baghdad resident Ayet Bassem, with her 6-year-old son
"I expected him to resist or commit suicide before falling into American hands. He disappointed a lot of us, he's a coward." — Mohammed Abdel Qader Mohammadi, a teacher in Yemen
"Saddam should not be spared, he should get the death penalty, which is the least he deserves." — Rasheed al-Osaimi, a Saudi student
"He killed my son Mohammed and he tortured his people. . . . Thank God for the United States." — Halem al-Jassen, an Iraqi woman celebrating in Baghdad
"For the last 35 years Saddam Hussein presented himself as a lion against the Americans and the West and now today they found him like a mouse. . . . He didn't fight for his country, he didn't even fight for himself." — Laad Hamadi, an Iraqi civil engineer
"I think President Bush deserves a day of celebration. . . . We have our policy differences, but we won't be discussing those today." — Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, who opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq
"I am glad he was captured alive so he can be brought before the bar of justice for decades of tyranny and murder. I hope his capture will speed Iraq's transformation to a secure and self-governing nation." — Former President Bill Clinton
"It's a fantastic day. It's a great tribute to the military and the intelligence and the young men and women who are over there." — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
"Given the location and circumstances of his capture, it makes it clear that Saddam was not managing the insurgency, and that he had very little control or influence. That is significant and disturbing because it means the insurgents are not fighting for Saddam, they're fighting against the United States." — Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.
"I hope President Bush will use this opportunity to chart a course in Iraq that will bring in our allies in a meaningful way to achieve a democratic and peaceful Iraq." — Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.
"Praise the Lord. . . . This is a day of glory for the American military, American intelligence, and it's a day of triumph and joy for anybody in the world who cares about freedom and human rights and peace." — Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.
"Capturing Saddam Hussein and ensuring that this brutal dictator will never return to power is an important step toward stabilizing Iraq for the Iraqis. Let's also be clear: Our problems in Iraq have not been caused by one man, and this is a moment when the administration can and must launch a major effort to gain international support and win the peace." — Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
"I supported this effort in Iraq without regard for the political consequences because it was the right thing to do. I still feel that way now, and today is a major step toward stabilizing Iraq and building a new democracy." — Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo.
"I hope this will see a diminishing in the violence against American soldiers in Iraq." — Retired Gen. Wesley Clark
"The United States must reach out to the world community with a new plan to stabilize Iraq, bring U.N. peacekeepers in, and bring U.S. troops home." — Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio.
"This is a major, major step, a remarkable day for the world." — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.
"Today is a great day for the Iraqi people. . . . Capturing this brutal dictator represents a significant step toward bringing about the kind of Iraq we and the majority of the Iraqi people seek." — Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.
"I think he should be tried in Iraq. There's about 300,000 to a million reasons why that has to come to closure with all the people that he murdered. . . . It would really remove the palpable fear that you see in the eyes of Iraqis." — Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan.