Here's another viewpoint on the capture of Saddam, in Monday's Arizona Republic:

The cost was too high for a two-bit tyrant

Tyrants are a dime a dozen. Some are more horrible than others. Saddam is/was one of the most despicable. As it is, and would be with other tyrants, humanity is served when they loss power.

While we celebrate the capture of Saddam (a former ally), let us continue to wonder if chasing down tyrants is an appropriate mission of the United States. If so, there are many suitable candidates. Some are at least as despicable as Saddam.

This fact notwithstanding, we should recall that the Bush administration sold the invasion of Iraq not on the wish to capture a tyrant, but on the urgent need to capture weapons of mass destruction. It was WMD, not a tyrant, which was supposed to be the threat to our national security. We have not yet captured even one itty-bitty WMD, and the price we have paid to capture a tyrant is far greater than the value gained.

In the afterglow of the "good news" of Saddam's capture, we must not forget what it is costing us to get him. Never mind the economic costs, the deaths of about 500 American soldiers and the injury of about 3,000 additional soldiers is far too great a price to pay for one two-bit tyrant.

Furthermore, anyone who believes that violence in Iraq will decrease because of the capture of Saddam is in for a huge disappointment. However, this capture is a great opportunity for the PR-savvy Bush administration to declare "mission accomplished" and bring our soldiers home.

Jerry Bowman, Phoenix