Seizure Fuels Fight Within Democratic Party

Howard Dean's nearest rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination seized on Saddam Hussein's capture to mount a sustained attack on the frontrunner, who has built his campaign on fierce opposition to the Iraq war.

Sensing that the arrest could tip the balance in the counter-insurgency, ease US withdrawal and generally make the war more popular, Mr Dean's critics argued that his outspoken position on the issue would make him a liability in a head-to-head contest with a strengthened George Bush.

The debate over the invasion is the central battlefield in a rolling civil war within the Democratic party pitting centrists against leftists.

The charge against Mr Dean has been led by senator Joseph Lieberman, whose enthusiastic support for the invasion has left him trailing in the contest to win the hearts of party activists and members.

In a flurry of television appearances, Mr Lieberman, who claimed to be "energised" by Sunday's news, frequently repeated the accusation that "If Howard Dean had his way, Saddam Hussein would be in power today, not in prison, and the world would be a much more dangerous place."

Mr Lieberman has nothing to lose by taking on the former Vermont governor. Al Gore, a Democratic kingmaker and former presidential candidate for whom Mr Lieberman served as running mate, endorsed Mr Dean last week.

But others in the nine-candidate nomination race also joined the skirmish triggered by Saddam's capture.

"I think that this is a time that underscores that if we're going to beat George Bush, we need somebody who has the experience, and who got this policy right," Senator John Kerry said.

Mr Kerry is trailing badly in New Hampshire, the site of the first full primary on January 27 and a state in which the Massachusetts senator expected to do well.

Most of their Democratic candidates attempted to balance their congratulations to the US armed forces on the capture with continued criticism of Mr Bush for not involving the international community in the post-war transition. Yesterday, Mr Dean said the capture would not make him tailor his position to the shifting circumstances.

He said Saddam's arrest offered the US, Iraq and the international community "an opportunity to move ahead".

"But it is only an opportunity, not a guarantee," he said. "Let me be clear: My position on the war has not changed."

General Wesley Clark, another opponent of the war, said: "I don't think that the capture of Saddam Hussein in any way invalidates [my] concerns [about the war]."

John Zogby, a leading US pollster, predicted that by the time of the elections next November, the importance of the capture would have faded considerably.

"It's a big historical day but not a turning point," Mr Zogby said.