WP: Tribunal Planners Hope to Start Case by Spring

Tuesday, December 16, 2003; Page A01

BAGHDAD, Dec. 15 -- An Iraqi-run tribunal could begin proceedings against former president Saddam Hussein on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity as early as next spring, Iraqi political leaders and officials responsible for the court said Monday.

One of the architects of the tribunal, Salem Chalabi, said political leaders and legal specialists had already begun discussing the best prosecutorial strategy to employ against Hussein. Chalabi said there was growing agreement that Hussein should be charged with perhaps only a dozen specific atrocities in an effort to keep a trial from bogging down. The charges would include the use of chemical weapons against ethnic Kurds in 1988, the execution of prominent Shiite Muslim clerics and the killing of hundreds of Sunni Muslim tribesmen after a coup attempt, he said.

(snip)

That timetable is significantly faster than American officials had anticipated, increasing the chances of a dispute between Iraqi leaders eager for justice and U.S. intelligence officials, who hope to elicit detailed information from Hussein about weapons of mass destruction, links to international terrorism and the ongoing insurgency.

Depending on Hussein's willingness to talk, intelligence analysts said, interrogations could continue well beyond the spring. The U.S. occupation authority also is reluctant to hand Hussein over to the Iraqis too quickly, wanting to ensure that the new court's staff and detention facilities are ready to weather the international attention that will surround the former president's case.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2748-2003Dec15.html

Especially since he is an escaped convicted felon from Jordan. He embezzled $millions. Persona non grata...HA! HA! HA! What a joke! I guess he fits right in with Bu$h's Kangaroo Court.

I reckon FOX will have full-coverage of the trial...possibly pre-empting the Peterson, Bryant, and Jackson media frenzys. Wow! Anything to boost ratings for the fuhrer!

:eyes:

that's all we need going into November.

Hmm... What are the odds that Salem would be a wee bit biased against Saddam?

court!

i hope sadam gets strung up

like Rummy or Unka Dick!

I'd really rather find the folks responsible for 911, though! An old man in a hole really isn't doing much right now!

Just to be clear, I'm no Saddam fan. But it would be nice to see the Iraqis play this clean...

guess thats better than another oswald or bringing him here or gitmo...

or will iraq actually be a state by then :shrug:

BRING THEM HOME!

peace

If Saddam is responsible for 9/11 and is connected with Bin Laden, why
isn't he being charged with that and put on trial in the USA? Hmmmmmm!