By Alexandar Vasovic
The Associated Press

ADWAR, Iraq - The yard was a mess, the laundry wasn't done, the pantry was bare and the only art on the walls was a poster of Noah's Ark.

Saddam Hussein's hideaway at a farmhouse in northern Iraq looked more like a derelict property abandoned by squatters than one of the lavish palaces he had lived in for years.

When the deposed Iraqi leader was pulled by U.S. troops from a dank hole adjacent to the farmhouse Saturday, he told them in English: "My name is Saddam Hussein. I am the president of Iraq and I want to negotiate."

A U.S. Special Forces soldier replied: "Regards from President Bush."

The exchange was recounted by Maj. Bryan Reed, operations officer for the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, leading reporters on a tour of Saddam's hideaway Monday, two days after the raid that led to his capture.

Col. James Hickey said special forces soldiers were seconds from pitching a hand grenade into Saddam's tiny underground refuge when the fugitive dictator's hands appeared above ground in surrender.

"He was assisted out of the hole," said Hickey, commander of the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division and leader of the raid that captured Saddam - who was armed with a pistol. No shots were fired.

Hickey said American forces began last July to assemble the evidence and intelligence that led to Saddam's weekend capture.

The story of Saddam's arrest was woven of many threads, many involving Hickey and his men, who had been conducting regular raids in and around Tikrit looking for Saddam since midsummer.

Beginning then, the 43-year-old Chicago native's brigade rousted some of Saddam's relatives in Tikrit. Some had been financing the insurgency that was just heating up against the American occupation. Others were active combatants in the guerrilla war.

Each captive's interrogation added a chink of evidence that ultimately lead to the arrest of former Iraqi dictator. But the time crawled between the start of the hunt and Saturday's successful raid.

Hickey called it the "mother of all raids," borrowing Saddam's terminology for the 1991 Gulf War: "The Mother of All Battles."

In the walled farmyard where Saddam hid below ground there was a mud-brick hut. Reporters were shown a small bedroom and a makeshift kitchen, but no toilet.

Branches covered the roof and a gray metal door with a padlock was the only security.

Inside, dirty laundry, including gray trousers and a towel, hung from a clothesline above a bed covered with a floral blanket. The poster was tacked to the wall near a second bed which appeared unused.

A box on the floor contained a long, black Arab robe; two new, white men's T-shirts and two pairs of white cotton boxer shorts.

Black moccasins and a pair of slippers with gold-colored buckles were shoved against the wall. There were old textbooks on the floor.

In the makeshift kitchen, a small refrigerator contained a few Bounty candy bars, some hot dogs and a can of 7-UP. There was old bread on a counter, leftover rice in a pot and dirty dishes in the sink.

On a shelf above the gas stove, there was soap, a canister of coffee, mouthwash, a mirror and two Mars candy bars.

Two men were caught fleeing the farm when troops raided Saturday night.

Outside the hut, a ditch appeared to serve as a latrine. The yard was littered with garbage, plastic bags, empty bottles, rotten fruit and a broken chair.

Troops had found a white cloth concealing Saddam's underground hideaway. Beneath the cloth was a piece of plastic foam - a hatch leading to the hideout - with two wire handles. It was painted to look like the soil around it.

Next to a date tree beside the hole was a ventilation pipe leading underground to the hiding place. Drying salamis and figs were hung on the pipe to help disguise it.

There were two tents on the property, a chicken coop and a stable that was home to a single cow.

Palm trees, orchards, orange trees and a sunflower field lined the road to the property about 10 miles south of Tikrit, Saddam's ancestral home.

Special Forces entered the compound about 8 p.m. Saturday night. Twenty minutes later, they reported apprehending "High-value Target No. 1," said Hickey.

Two AK-47 rifles, documents and $750,000 in cash also were found.

Saddam, looking haggard and wearing a scraggly beard, was found clutching a loaded pistol he didn't fire.