The campaign will now be fought on other issues. Presidential elections next year were expected to pit a Democratic contender against Bush on ground defined by the war for Iraq. The other, for the hearts of American voters, has probably been won. One, to reshape the country's politics, is still being fought. The issue, however, has become less pressing and may become politically redundant. It says documents proving Saddam had a WMD programme will soon be published. The coalition claimed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) ready to use, but no evidence of this has yet been found. Even bitter critics are being forced to concede that the attack on Iraq has, at least for now, been vindicated. Until last weekend, it was Blair and Bush, not Saddam, who were in the dock, charged by world opinion with delivering regime change in Iraq by questionable means. It could have failed on the battlefield, and came close to failure in the early months of reconstruction. The reality is that Blair and Bush have won and are about to reap huge political benefits. Their words softened the blow that Saddam's capture has dealt to millions in the Arab world in thrall to the illusion that he was America's ultimate, unbeatable enemy, the last champion of Arab pride. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair earlier called for peace and reconciliation within Iraq. In Washington, US President Bush spoke in measured terms the day after Saddam's capture of the work still to be done. Saddam is finished, the Baathist era is over and the violence in Iraq is due to forces he does not command. His physical condition reflected the political realities. Nor will it bring sense to a region maddened by a quarter century of his rule. Saddam's capture on 13 December will not bring immediate peace to Iraq. What thoughts are now in the mind of the world's most famous, hated man? After 24 years in ultimate power, and almost as many at war against neighbours and then the world, will Saddam say why he chose a route, when so many others were on offer, that led to a squalid hiding place close to where his life began?
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