Hussein ‘No Longer in Power,’ Bush Says as He Visits Troops

President Bush declared Friday that Saddam Hussein was “no longer in power,” but said he would declare an end to the war only when his field commanders report that the conflict’s other objective has been met: ensuring that Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction.

In his first public remarks since the fall of Baghdad on Wednesday, Bush also vowed to “use every resource we have to find any POWs that are alive. And we pray that they are alive, because if they are, we’ll find them.”

He spoke to reporters after touring Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where he visited individually with 64 service members who were injured in Iraq and one wounded in Afghanistan.

Many were in serious condition with gunshot and shrapnel wounds. Two had lost parts of their legs: one an Army sergeant who stepped on a land mine, the other a medic who came to rescue him and also stepped on a mine. The men were in beds side by side.

One of them, a marathon runner, was from Austin, Texas, where Bush lived for six years as governor of the Lone Star State. “I’ll make you a prediction: You’ll be running on Town Lake if you want to,” Bush said, referring to Austin’s popular running trail.

Bush, who was accompanied by his wife, Laura, called his visits “an extraordinary experience.”

He awarded 16 Purple Hearts to injured service members -- the others had received that medal earlier -- and witnessed the naturalization of two Marines as U.S. citizens under an executive order he signed last year that expedites the naturalization process for noncitizens who serve in the military during armed conflict.

The two new citizens are Lance Cpl. O.J. Santamaria of Daly City, Calif., and Master Gunnery Sgt. Guadalupe Denogean of Tucson, Ariz.

Denogean, a native of Mexico, took the oath first. Afterward, Bush hugged him.

Santamaria, who was born in the Philippines, broke down and began sobbing in the middle of the ceremony. Hooked up to an intravenous device for a blood transfusion, he wept out of pain and joy, according to witnesses.

At that point, the president said to him: “My fellow American. You’re a good man. I’m proud of you. What a moving moment. We’re proud to have you as Americans.”

Seeing Santamaria’s pain, Bush urged him to sit down, but the Marine refused. Eventually, he completed his oath -- still sobbing.

“The thing that stood out the most to me was seeing two wounded soldiers swear in as citizens of the United States ... people who had gone overseas, people who had risked their lives for the peace and security and freedom,” Bush said afterward.

In one room, Bush told a Marine who had been hit with a rocket-propelled grenade, “I’m in the presence of a hero.”

The Marine replied: “I want to thank you on behalf of every other Marine for letting us do our job.”

“Were you ready?” Bush asked him.

“Hell, yes,” the Marine replied. “I’ll do it again when I’m ready to go back.”

“The Marines are a tough group,” Bush said later.

Because of their injuries, many of the service members were in hospital gowns; others had put on as much of their uniforms as their injuries would allow.

Repeatedly, Bush tried to interject bits of levity into his comments.

As he posed with each family or service member for photographs, he joked more than once that he may use that picture as his Christmas card.

At one point, when one injured man told Bush that he also hails from Texas, the president ordered: “Give him two Purple Hearts.”

The president has visited with injured troops from the Afghan campaign, as well as with survivors of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and family members of those who died. Last Thursday, he met at Camp Lejeune, N.C., with the families of five Marines killed in Iraq.

Although Bush was wary on Friday of proclaiming victory, he allowed that this had been “an historic week,” and added:

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget -- I’m sure a lot of other people will never forget -- the statue of Saddam Hussein falling in Baghdad, and then seeing the jubilation on the faces of ordinary Iraqis as they realized that the grip of fear that had them by the throat had been released. The first signs of freedom.”

But Bush cautioned that he would proclaim victory and end the war only when Army Gen. Tommy Franks, head of U.S. Central Command, reports that the objectives have been achieved.

“The priority of this campaign is to rid the Iraqi people of any vestiges of Saddam Hussein and his regime so we can not only free the people, but clear that country of weapons of mass destruction,” Bush said.

After the hospital visits, Bush went to Camp David for the fourth consecutive weekend. He is expected to spend the latter part of next week at his ranch near Crawford, Texas.