WASHINGTON, Dec 14: US President George W. Bush on Sunday vowed to put former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein on trial, saying he would face the justice he denied to others.

“And now the former dictator of Iraq will face the justice he denied to millions,” declared the US president while addressing his nation after Saddam Hussein’s capture.

Mr Bush assured the Iraqis that Saddam’s reign of terror had come to an end forever but he warned the Americans that this was not the end of violence in Iraq.

“The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq. We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing,” he said.

Mr Bush began his speech by describing how Saddam was captured: “Yesterday, December the 13th, at around 8:30pm Baghdad time, United States military forces captured Saddam Hussein alive. He was found near a farmhouse outside the city of Tikrit, in a swift raid conducted without casualties.”

The capture of this man, the US president said, was crucial to the rise of a free Iraq. “It marks the end of the road for him, and for all who bullied and killed in his name.

“For the vast majority of Iraqi citizens who wish to live as free men and women, this event brings further assurance that the torture chambers and the secret police are gone forever,” he added.

In his message to the people of Iraq, Mr Bush said: “You will not have to fear the rule of Saddam Hussein ever again. All Iraqis who take the side of freedom have taken the winning side.”

He said that the goals of the US-led coalition in Iraq were the same as those of the Iraqi people — “sovereignty for your country, dignity for your great culture, and for every Iraqi citizen, the opportunity for a better life.”

“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.

“The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator’s footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force,” he said.

Mr Bush said US soldiers and their allies had faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen Iraqi regime. “Their work continues, and so do the risks.”

In a message to his nation, the US president warned that the insurgents operating in Iraq were “a direct threat to the American people.”

“We’ve come to this moment through patience and resolve and focused action. And that is our strategy moving forward. The war on terror is a different kind of war, waged capture by capture, cell by cell, and victory by victory.”

“Our security is assured by our perseverance and by our sure belief in the success of liberty. And the United States of America will not relent until this war is won,” he declared.