Lieberman: Dean Would Have Kept Saddam in Power

Hours after news broke of Saddam Hussein's capture, Democratic presidential hopeful Joseph Lieberman slammed his party's front-runner, Howard Dean, as a defacto ally of the Iraqi dictator because of his long-term opposition to the war.

"If Howard Dean had his way, Saddam Hussein would be in power today, not in prison," Lieberman told NBC's "Meet the Press."

"I always felt he was a ticking time bomb,” the Connecticut Democrat explained.

While Dean has said in recent days that he was not sure whether Hussein should stand trial for war crimes, Lieberman told "Meet the Press": "This evil man has to face the death penalty. The International Tribunal at The Hague cannot order the death penalty."

The lone war hawk among the nine candidates seeking his party's nomination, Lieberman called Saddam "a homicidal maniac," saying that he "caused the deaths of more than a million people, including now 460 Americans who went to overthrow him."

For his part, Dean told reporters on the campaign trail in Florida, "I think this is a day to celebrate the fact that Saddam has been captured and we'll have to worry about the campaign later on.

"President Bush deserves a day of celebration. We have our policy differences, but we won't be discussing those today," he added.

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