and from there they moved through narjaf, karbala and it's taken 22 days of war for the coalition to get this far. >> i was privileged to command the 101st airborne division. we liberated the first major city in iraq, then moved into baghdad. >> the man who ruled here so brutally and absolutely for almost 25 years has vanished. >> the closer we got, the more they knew saddam was finished, and they were glad to show it. >> the troops were very welcome. shiites and people who hated saddam were joyful, running through the streets, the iconic image of the big statue of saddam hussein being pulled over with some help from u.s. troops. >> this is george w. bush, the president of the united states. at this moment, the regime of saddam hussein is being removed from power. and a long era of fear and cruelty is ending. the government of iraq and the future of your country will soon belong to you.