Dec. 14, 2003
Israel congradulates Bush, tries not to gloat
By HERB KEINON
Israeli leaders tried to restrain from gloating and react in a mater-of-fact manner to the capture of Saddam Hussein, even though the deposed Iraqi dictator has for decades cast a long shadow over the Jewish State.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon phoned US President George W. Bush and congratulated him on the capture of Saddam. "As I told President Bush, today is a great day for the democratic world and for those who fight for freedom and justice, and those opposed to terror," Sharon said before meeting with US Congressman Christopher Cox (R-Ca), chairman of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security.
Sharon said "the whole world is breathing easier since the dictator who destroyed Iraq can no longer interfere in its reconstruction."
Sharon said he congratulated Bush on his "courageous stand against world terror. I believe that the democracies in general, and those beset by terror in particular, learned a historic lesson today. The enlightened international community saw that it can, when needed, defend freedom and roundly defeat terror."
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"Our position is that we are pleased he was apprehended, and he needs to be tired," the official said. "There are enough people out there trying to say the Zionists were behind Bush going into Iraq in the first place, that we do not have to give them more ammunition by dancing right now."
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