From palaces to a hole in dirt

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A man who lived in sprawling palaces was pulled from a hole in the dirt. A man who challenged the greatest armies in the world was arrested without firing a shot. A man who embezzled billions of dollars and put his image on every Iraqi bank note was found with a single suitcase of cash — bearing the face of an American, Benjamin Franklin.

The image that emerged Sunday of Saddam Hussein in captivity contrasted in almost every way to the life of one of the world's most despised dictators.

"He was subservient and broken," said Iraqi leader Mouwafak al-Rabii, who saw Saddam in detention. "Saddam looked like a thug."

It was quite a fall for the self-proclaimed "builder of modern Iraq."

During Saddam's reign, his picture graced streets and offices in a hundred different guises, from modern-day field marshal to medieval Arab warrior on horseback. His countenance, with a solemn but pleased expression, was printed on Iraqi dinars of every denomination.

He moved among dozens of palaces scattered across Iraq — sprawling, grandiose complexes with houses for his children, his bodyguards, his aides and his prostitutes, as well as hospitals, gymnasiums and zoos. Two of the palaces were topped with 10-foot busts of Saddam in a tropical helmet.

When the palaces weren't enough, he rebuilt the ancient city of Babylon, ordering his name inscribed on the stones alongside those of Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar.

He spent lavishly on the country as well. During a 1970s oil boom, Saddam headed an economic planning council that oversaw the building of vast industrial plants, huge housing projects, eight-lane highways, bridges, airports, universities and communication grids.

Millions of Iraqis were able for the first time in their lives to wear designer clothing and vacation in London, Madrid or Paris. Others started tasting imported foods and driving Japanese, German or French cars — all at government subsidized prices.

Baghdad became a hub for Arab writers and artists who gathered at annual festivals. An Iraq-based foreign development fund provided economic aid to poor nations in Africa. Tens of thousands of Iraqi students were sent West on state scholarships.

"Saddam seemed to be building an empire and only waiting to declare himself its emperor," Iraqi economist Ghanim Hamdoun said from London.

His opulence was rivaled only by his brutality. Conservative estimates say he had 300,000 people executed; some say the number is over 1 million. Once, Saddam had a cameraman film him as he walked along a row of executed opponents, putting a final bullet into each one's head.