Major Mike | Today in History 12/13 (George W Bush)

President-elect George W. Bush gives his acceptance speech to become the 43rd president of the United States, December 13, 2000 (© Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

(2000) Gore concedes and Bush wins closest presidential race in US history

After a protracted recount of votes in Florida and a US Supreme Court decision the previous day validating Florida’s declaration of George Bush the winner there, Bush becomes president-elect as Al Gore concedes. In Gore’s televised speech, he jokes that he promised Bush he wouldn’t call him back after changing his mind.

Albert Arnold Gore Jr. is an American politician and environmentalist who served as the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Gore was Bill Clinton’s running mate in their successful campaign in 1992, and the pair was re-elected in 1996. Near the end of Clinton’s second term, Gore was selected as the Democratic nominee for the 2000 presidential election but lost the election in a very close race after a Florida recount. After his term as vice-president ended in 2001, Gore remained prominent as an author and environmental activist, whose work in climate change activism earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

Born: Mar 31, 1948 (age 70) · Washington, D.C., United States
Height: 6′ 1″
Spouse: Tipper Gore (m. 1970 – 2010)
Children: Kristin Gore (Daughter) · Karenna Gore (Daughter) · Albert Gore III (Son) · Sarah Gore (Daughter)
Founded: The Climate Reality Project · Current TV · Generation Investment Management · Chicago Climate Exchange · The Climate Project
Education: Harvard University · Harvard College · Vanderbilt University · St. Albans School

Florida Supreme Court Building, Tallahassee, Florida

Florida Supreme Court
wiki/Al_Gore

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(2000) Gore concedes and Bush wins closest presidential race in US history.
Also on this day,

1937 | Rape of Nanjing as Japanese forces massacre thousands

During the Sino-Japanese War, Japan overtakes the capital of China and Gen. Matsui Iwane orders the city destroyed. His troops will butcher about 150,000 Chinese men and rape 20,000 women and girls, most of whom will be killed afterward. Iwane will later be hanged for war crimes.

1989 | South African President de Klerk meets Nelson Mandela

South Africa’s President F.W. de Klerk holds his first meeting with imprisoned African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela at his office in Cape Town. In the coming months, de Klerk will call for a “new South Africa,” lift the ban on the ANC and other groups, and release Mandala from prison after 26 years.

2002 | Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is captured

After nine months on the run, Saddam Hussein is found hiding in a “spider hole” 6-8 feet underground near his hometown of Tikrit. He offers no resistance to US troops and looks like a different man than during his 24-year reign: Saddam is filthy, with a bushy, unkempt beard.

Today in History ^12/13/17

Saddam Hussein is seen on television on December 14, 2003 soon after his capture near Tiktit, Iraq (© US Military via APTN/AP)

(2003) Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is captured

After nine months on the run, Saddam Hussein is found hiding in a "spider hole" 6-8 feet underground near his hometown of Tikrit. He offers no resistance to US troops and looks like a different man than during his 24-year reign: Saddam is filthy, with a bushy, unkempt beard.

Operation Red Dawn was an American military operation conducted on 13 December 2003 in the town of ad-Dawr, Iraq, near Tikrit, that led to the capture of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. The operation was named after the 1984 film Red Dawn. The mission was assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division, commanded by Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno and led by Col. James Hickey of the 4th Infantry Division, with joint operations Task Force 121—an elite and covert joint special operations team.

Date: Dec 13, 2003

Iraqi-American, Samir, 34, pinning deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to the ground during his capture in Tikrit, on Saturday, December 13, 2003. Samir was the translator for the U.S. Special Forces that helped find Hussein and pull him from his hiding place on December 13, 2003. Samir later met with U.S. President Bush and thanked him for liberating Iraq.
wiki/Operation_Red_Dawn

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