After eight months of official and unofficial combat in Iraq, Saddam Hussein is no longer a fugitive.

Found unshaven and disheveled at the bottom of a “spider hole” near his hometown of Tikrit, Saddam looked much different than the smiling dictator of before.

In a national address, President Bush said Saddam will “face the justice he denied to millions.” The ousted dictator’s fate is unclear, although U.S. officials in Baghdad said before the capture that Saddam would likely stand trial under the new Iraqi Governing Council court created last week.

While Saddam deserves to be publicly tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity, it is imperative the trial be conducted fairly — without the influence of understandable feelings of revenge and retaliation felt by Iraqis. These feelings were obvious at the official announcement of Saddam’s capture, as Iraqi journalists — who should remain unbiased toward their former leader — leaped to their feet, shouting, “Death to Saddam!”

Human rights groups welcomed Saddam’s arrest but cautioned against an unbiased, unfair trial. “Like any other criminal suspect, he is entitled to all relevant safeguards under international law, including the right not to be subjected to torture or ill-treatment, and of course the right to receive a fair trial [and] a defense lawyer,” said Amnesty International spokeswoman Nicole Shoueiry.

The trial of Saddam Hussein will be an important step for the fledgling Iraqi government and is by no means the end of U.S. occupation in Iraq and military deaths. What may seem as the beginning of the end may, in fact, be only the end of the beginning.