Show Iraqis vent fury at symbols of Saddam regime Events disillusion - and relieve -Arabs elsewhere By Hamza Hendmri Associated Press Writer By Donna Associated Press Writer Abu-Na- BAGHDAD Iraq— They used shoes and slippers sledgehammers cardboard bora sticks sod garbage Joyous Baghdad residents pelted swatted and swung just about anything they could find Wednesday at the toppled statue of Saddam Hussein — the most potent symbol of die Iraqi leader’s stunningly swift sr RIYADH Saudi Arabia — The fall of Baghdad provoked shock and disbelief among Arabs who expressed hope that other oppressive regimes would crumble but also disappointment that Saddam Hussein did na put up a better fight against America “Why did he fall that way? Why so fast?” asked Yemeni homemaker Umm Ahmed tears streaming down her face “He’s a coward Now I feel sorry his people” Arabs clustered at TV sets in shop windows coffee shops kitchens and offices to " demise “Now my son can have a chance in life” said Bushra Abed pointing fa LL UH u watch the astounding pictures of “Now my son can have a chance in life I don’t like to see a foreign army in Iraq But all those who tried to get rid of him (Saddam) were killed We have no choice we lived in so much fear” US troops - Bushra Abed US troops Ibrahim Mother of watching Saddam statue fell Behind the disbelief lay a worry over the prospect -- to her son Ibrahim as they watched the statue come down in central Baghdad with the help of US Marines — images that were broadcast throughout the world “I don’t like to see a foreign army in Iraq’’ said Abed “But all those who tried to get rid of him were killed We have no choice we lived in so much fear” she said But time woe also signs of mixed emotion toward US faces Marines briefly covered Saddam’s face with an American flag mid were greeted with silence They quickly replaced it with die Iraqi flag to cheers from the crowd al-Ab- of an American sl professor ' ' g°- - because our area is filled with dictatorships like Saddam’s” a Yemeni university profes-sTarek was hopeful Saddam's end presaged more democracy in the region “This is a message fa the Arab regimes and could be the beginning of transformation in the Arab region” ahAbsi said “Without the honest help of the Western nations the reforms will not take place in al-A- AP photo a — PageA12 la there As US troops take pver Baghdad and jubilant Iraqis dance and cheer ii the streets the question lingers: Where is Saddam Hussein? Tliere are rumors he escaped a maS- sive airstrike and is hiding in the Russian Embassy as part of a deal between Washington and Moscow Some whisper that he and his sons Qusai and Odai stole sway to his hometown of Tikrit others say they were wounded i a fun or fasdntingWM Na you would ice M SnBfB Wwl luHOw HJ readers? Cal the newspaper et 1 and It could appear here Don’t forget to leave your name end town of raeidence 752-212- Ibis week’s featured : Web silK C8 Obituaries C6 C4 Sports A8 0pipk)nA4 £1 wwwhjnewscom : No gloating on victories Bush urges ' ' See WHERE onA12 ' ' ' WASHINGTON (AP)— President Bush stared al his television set and the image of' Saddam Hussein's statue tom from its pedestal and smashed to the ground “They got it down” he said But the president was not ' An Iraqi man kisses an American soldier ready to declare victory At least not yet jn downtown Baghdad on Wednesday ' “The war is not over” said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer as a cascade of developments Wednesday hastened internal talks about when and how the president might declare victory Bush had no public events ' Wednesday while his war council tried to digest the ' ' events Mindful of stiff antiwar sentiments in the Arab ' Logan man on war front family learns from paper wwwpuzzlemakercom Index ' ' Teachers take note! This Web site helpe ypu make educational puzzles tar free in just minutes Thera are 11 afferent puzzte options incxxsng me popular crossword and wotdsearch puzzles Al you have to do is type In the words you want the students to And and print out the puzzle Ctasriftoda Comics Movies - and onfe of the sons is dead The building where US intelligence officials thoughtthe Iraqi leader might be meeting with his sons and top advisers is just a hole in the ground now smashed to rubble by US bombs minutes after coalition commanders received the report It’s na clear who was killed and US officials have yet to examine the site because Saddam loyalists stiU control Baghdad's slide into lawlessness has or See ARABS on A12 Where isSaddam? By Meg Richards Associated Press Writer Quick read & “I don’t like the idea ofhaving the Americans here but we asked fa it” he said “Why don’t we see the Americans going to Finland for example? They come here The head of a giant Saddam Hussein statue is smashed by Iraqis in Baghdad on Wednesday Jubilant crowds Saddam Hussein as US commanders swarmed into Baghdad’s streets dancing looting and defacing images declared that his regime's rule over the capital havd ended t Tan- - year-ol- d ' Enjoy another day of sunny However nous Basil a 47- - cardiologist in Sidon Lebanon said Saddam’s regime was a “dictatorship and had to ') Weather Tarek Yemeni See FALL on A12 warm weather over- whelming an Arab capital for the first time ever Feeling betrayed and mis- led some turned off their sets in disgust when jubilant crowds in Baghdad celebrat- ed the arrival of Herald Journal staff report A the (hick of the war action in Baghdad his family learned yesterday after the soldier’s name appeared in an article in USA Today ' Sgt Spencer Willardson of Logan is waiting in military intelligence USA Today reporter Gregg Zoroya quoted Willardson in annrticte that appeared on page AS ofyesterday’s article told the story i reservist Sgt Spencer Willardson approached a group of Iraqi with his wita YUta Logan Army WHantaon pictured citizens cheering the advance of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division near Baghdad’s Damascus Square on Tuesday One citizen then confided to Willardson that Republican Guard soldiers had commandeered a nearby hotel from which they were taking potshots at US soldiers See LOGAN on A12 See BUSH on A9 Many Iraqis in US voice joy— A6 Welcome mat ready for POW’s rescuer A7 |