TIKRIT, Iraq — Saddam Hussein's hometown loyalists celebrated his 66th birthday Monday with blood oaths and vows of devotion, three weeks after the U.S. military drove him from power. In Baghdad, residents scorned the ousted leader and swapped rumors that he would surface for a final birthday attack.
For the first time in a generation, Saddam's (search) birthday passed with no official fanfare, no compulsory celebration -- and no Saddam. For many Iraqis, that was just fine.
"Saddam and his birthday were a black cloud over Iraq. We all want peace and freedom. He deprived us of these things," said Moayed al-Duleimi, 37, a guard in Baghdad.
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