U.S. President George W. Bush, on vacation at his Crawford, Texas, ranch, slept through Saddam Hussein's hanging.

The White House said the president was asleep at the time of the execution, but was briefed by national security adviser Stephen Hadley before he went to bed.

The White House press office issued a prepared statement about ninety minutes after the execution in which the president said, "Today, Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial, the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime."

"Fair trials were unimaginable under Saddam Hussein's tyrannical rule. It is a testament to the Iraqi people's resolve to move forward after decades of oppression that, despite his terrible crimes against his own people, Saddam Hussein received a fair trial. This would not have been possible without the Iraqi people's determination to create a society governed by the rule of law," the president said.

"Saddam Hussein's execution comes at the end of a difficult year for the Iraqi people and for our troops. Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself, and be an ally in the War on Terror," the statement added.

"We are reminded today of how far the Iraqi people have come since the end of Saddam Hussein's rule - and that the progress they have made would not have been possible without the continued service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform."

"Many difficult choices and further sacrifices lie ahead. Yet the safety and security of the American people require that we not relent in ensuring that Iraq's young democracy continues to progress," President Bush concluded in his statement.