BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- For a man who killed tens of thousands of people and tortured his enemies, Saddam Hussein was taken into custody in a surprisingly peaceful manner, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Sunday night on CBS' "60 Minutes."
Eight months after Baghdad fell, U.S. soldiers found the disheveled former leader of Iraq six feet under, hiding in a hole in the ground. Saddam was captured Saturday night about nine miles from his hometown of Tikrit and on the other side of the Tigris River from one of his lavish palaces.
Saddam had a pistol but was taken into custody without firing it.
"Here was a man who was photographed hundreds of times shooting off rifles and showing how tough he was, and in fact, he wasn't very tough, he was cowering in a hole in the ground, and had a pistol and didn't use it and certainly did not put up any fight at all," Rumsfeld said.
"In the last analysis, he seemed not terribly brave," he said.
About 600 soldiers of the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, and special operations forces of Task Force 121 conducted the raid in Ad Dawr, near a group of ramshackle buildings. They found Saddam hiding in a 6-to-8 foot deep hole, equipped with a basic ventilation system and covered with bricks and dirt.
"No way he could fight back," said Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander of the 4th Infantry Division, which helped carry out the raid. (Gallery: Saddam's capture) "He was caught like a rat." (Audio Slide Show: The capture of Saddam Hussein)
U.S. forces found weapons and about $750,000 in U.S. $100 bills with the former dictator, said Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who leads coalition troops in Iraq. Troops also found two AK-47s, a pistol and a white and orange taxi.
Saddam's capture likely has cut off one source of funding for insurgent attacks against coalition forces, Rumsfeld said.
"He was found with a sizable amount of money," he said. "And one of the things that the Saddam Hussein family and his clique of intimates were doing is they were providing money to people to go out and engage in acts against the coalition and the Iraqi people, so that's ended."
The deposed Iraqi leader has been moved out of Iraq, The Associated Press reported Sunday night.
Rumsfeld said the United States has not yet decided whether to classify Saddam as a prisoner of war. But Rumsfeld said the United States would abide by the Geneva Conventions in its treatment of him.
More than 24 hours after his capture, the interrogation of the uncooperative Saddam has not yielded much information, Rumsfeld said.
"I think it's a bit early to try to characterize his demeanor beyond that," he said.
Not for members of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, who visited Saddam Sunday and found him "tired and haggard, unrepentant, even defiant."
Four members of the council who were taken to see Saddam after his capture by U.S. troops said Saddam insisted he was "a just but firm ruler."
Asked about thousands killed and dumped in mass graves, Saddam dismissed his victims as "thieves," said one council member.
"He was not apologetic. He was sarcastic and making a mockery of Iraqi people," said one member of the council.
