SAMARA, Iraq -- While the intensity of this war has diminished considerably from what it was just several days ago, it is not over yet. Those Marines who are still taking fire and being wounded will attest to that. But great and historic progress continues to be made, and with each successful campaign, new evidence is unearthed justifying the president's correct and courageous decision to remove the terrorist threat posed by Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.

I'm reporting this week from the ancient city of Samara -- the fortress city on the Tigris River. This is a training site for the so-called Saddam Fedayeen, which was captured by U.S. Marines of the 5th Regimental Combat Team last week. In my last report, I wrote that it was the Fedayeen -- who have been identified as Syrians, Saudis, Sudanese, Somalis and Egyptians -- who were supplying Saddam's last line of defense. Not only were these "foreigners" -- as the Iraqi civilians have taken to calling them -- schooled in the ways of terror here, but also at the so-called Salman Pak education center -- a terrorist training camp in southern Baghdad.

The remains of this center are a testament to the accuracy of precision-guided munitions. After a single 2,000 pound bomb was dropped on this structure, it leveled the building and destroyed the headquarters, but left intact a house just 50 yards away. Once inside, the Marines found it to be full of terrorist training equipment. In addition, I found a French officer's pilot uniform and a French helmet at this facility.

Then there was the ammunition. It is fair to say that Saddam Hussein is to hand grenades what Imelda Marcos was to shoes. The weapons came from numerous countries -- places like Jordan, Saudi Arabia, France and Italy. Nearly every country that has weapons to deliver was supplying Saddam -- save the United States and Great Britain. I don't think Saddam ever saw a hand grenade he didn't want to buy. He was willing to pay a premium price for them, and he forced his own people to suffer as a consequence.

It seems no building or structure was immune from conscription. During this war, we've been reminded of Saddam's penchant for using human shields and utilizing mosques and hospitals for his military infrastructure.

When I was with the Marines in Baghdad before we made our way north, we were at the sports complex that was in the center of the city, next to a school. But these buildings were no longer used for recreation or education. They became part of Saddam's war machine -- arms depots filled with weapons, munitions and military equipment -- including missiles. When such weapons are found, they need to be destroyed. So Marine engineers gather up the ammunition that doesn't have to be moved, tie detonation cord around it and destroy it in place.

Outside of Samara, there are suspicious containers that are being probed by intelligence specialists and chemical warfare experts. Eight MiG 21s were found disassembled and hidden about 10 miles from the airbase here. In addition, they discovered Scud missiles and Al Samoud missiles, which are capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction.

We are going to find more evidence of these kinds of weapons with time. The critics need to realize that Saddam Hussein is -- or perhaps was -- a terrible criminal. He took his country and turned it into an arsenal. He repressed his people and turned them into paupers because he was spending all their money on munitions. Fortunately, those weapons are being found and destroyed. Continued...