| From a recent poll .. 41% of Iraqis feel
Saddam should be set free .. They must have
been polling in Tikrit <g> ..
So .. what is to be Saddam's fate ??
1) Hung by his thumbs in 2006 ??
2) Exiled for life in Syria ??
3) Newly elected President of Iraq in 2005 ??
4) Worm feast in 2006 ??
From CBS news 07-01-2004
(CBS/AP) A defiant Saddam Hussein rejected charges against him as he appeared before an Iraqi judge Thursday, telling the court "this is all theater, the real criminal is Bush," according to a reporter in an official media pool.
CBS News' Dan Rather said Saddam's appearance — which lasted about half an hour — suggested that his defense will rest in part on a challenge to the legal basis of the Iraqi court.
The former dictator arrived at the courthouse near the Baghdad airport in a U.S. military armored bus, flanked by four humvees, and followed by an Army ambulance. He was escorted from the bus by two Iraqi correctional security guards and ushered into the courthouse while six more Iraqi guards stood outside.
Saddam, looking thinner than when captured, was handcuffed on the way into the building, but not while he was in court.
Strict pool arrangements severely limited media access to the hearing. According to pool reports, there were roughly 15 to 18 people in the courtroom, including tribunal administrator Salem Chalabi and two representatives of the U.S. Justice Department.
When Saddam entered the courtroom, the judge asked him who he was, when he was born and if he was president of Iraq.
"I am the current and continuous president of Iraq," Saddam is reported to have said. He asked the judge to identify himself, and the judge responded.
The seven charges against Saddam included the 1988 chemical gas attack on the Kurdish town of Hallabja, the suppression of the Shiite rebellion in 191, the killing of political rivals and the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
To the final charge, Saddam is reported to have said, "I can't believe you are charging me with this when you know Kuwait is part of Iraq."
Saddam was referencing an old territorial dispute that was the pretext for the 1990 invasion. Rather reports he was claiming to have acted in his legitimate capacity as president, and in his nation's best interests, in invading Kuwait.
The judge then asked Saddam to sign papers acknowledging the charges. But Saddam refused to do so without lawyers present.
A formal indictment with specific charges is expected later, said Chalabi. The trial isn't expected until 2005.
Saddam and 11 of his former top aides were transferred to Iraqi custody Wednesday. They include former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, the regime's best-known spokesman in the West; Ali Hasan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali;" and former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan.
Although Saddam is officially in Iraqi legal custody, for security reasons and at the request of the prime minister, he will remain in a U.S.-controlled jail guarded by Americans until the Iraqis are ready to take physical custody of him. That is expected to take a long time.
U.S. officials had hoped to delay proceedings against Saddam until the Iraqis set up a special court and trained a legal team. But Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, whose government regained sovereignty Monday, insisted publicly on taking legal custody of Saddam quickly. The Americans agreed on condition they keep him under U.S. lock and key.
There are pretrial negotiations over permitting Saddam's foreign legal team to work in Iraq, whether to televise the proceedings, and whether to reinstate the death penalty.
U.S. and Iraqi officials hope the trial will lay bare the atrocities of his regime and help push the country toward normalcy after years of tyranny, the U.S.-led invasion and the insurgency that has blossomed in its aftermath.
But the trial could have the opposite effect, possibly widening the chasm among Iraq's disparate groups — Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis.
"It's going to be the trial of the century," National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie told Associated Press Television News. "Everybody is going to watch this trial, and we are going to demonstrate to the outside world that we in the new Iraq are going to be an example of what the new Iraq is all about."
Allawi's government is due to leave office after elections in January, and a second national ballot is to be held by December 2005. That raises the possibility that national policy on the prosecution of Saddam and his backers could change depending on the makeup of the government.
Most of Iraq's 25 million people were overjoyed when Saddam's regime collapsed, and many are looking forward to the day he will be punished.
"Everyone all over the world agrees that Saddam Hussein should be put on trial in front of the Iraqi people," said Baghdad resident Ahmad al-Lami.
However, the turmoil of the past 14 months has led to a longing for the stability and order of the ousted dictatorship.
"Saddam Hussein was a national hero and better than the traitors in the new government," a resident of Saddam's hometown of Tikrit told APTN, refusing to give his name.
The other defendants whose legal custody was transferred Wednesday are:
Watban Ibrahim al-Hasan al-Tikriti, presidential adviser and Saddam's half brother.
Barzan Ibrahim al-Hassan al-Tikriti, a presidential adviser and Saddam's half brother.
Kamal Mustafa Abdullah al-Tikriti, secretary of the Republican Guard and Saddam's son-in-law.
Sabir Abdul Aziz Al-Douri, governor of Baghdad and head of military intelligence during the 1991 Gulf War.
Muhammed Hamza al-Zubaydi, retired revolutionary command council member under Saddam and a leader of the 1991 suppression of the Shiite rebellion.
Abid Hamid Mahmoud al-Tikriti, presidential secretary who oversaw Saddam's personal security force.
Sultan Hashim Ahmad, Saddam's defense minister.
Aziz Saleh al-Numan, former Baath Party Baghdad regional command chairman.
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