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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (51033)	6/20/2004 1:23:15 PM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793917

This had to happen. No way we can take a chance. US jailers likely to guard Saddam, under Iraqi legal custody Wed Jun 16, 1:49 PM ET Add Mideast - AFP to My Yahoo! BAGHDAD (AFP) - The United States and Iraq (news - web sites) are close to a deal to transfer ousted dictator Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) into Iraqi legal custody although he will remain under the lock and key of US wardens, a coalition source told AFP. AFP/File Photo Latest headlines: · Panel: No Conflict on al-Qaida-Iraq Ties AP - 22 minutes ago · Jordanian king discusses future of Iraq with US Congress delegation AFP - 25 minutes ago · Bomb Near Baghdad Kills 2 Iraqi Soldiers AP - 25 minutes ago Special Coverage Saddam will be under Iraq's legal jurisdiction, but the US-led coalition would still guard the former head of state, the source said. "This is the arrangement we're close to reaching," the source said, adding: "This is probably what's going to happen." US overseer Paul Bremer broached the possibility of such an arrangement Tuesday after US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) expressed fears that the Iraqis could not guarantee Saddam stayed behind bars. "If they ask for him, which I have every reason to believe they will ... we'll turn him over," Bremer told the Washington Post, adding that "legal custody and physical custody can be two separate things." Iraq's Justice Minister Malek Duhan al-Hassan said he believed America would turn over the toppled dictator who once struck fear into the hearts of millions, but the US-led coalition's help was necessary. "Saddam Hussein will be under our responsibility after June 30 but we can ask the coalition to provide additional support to guard him for an undetermined period of time," said the justice minister. "We are ready to guarantee the protection of Saddam Hussein, but given the difficult security situation and if we feel we have the need, we can cooperate on this question with the coalition," Hassan said. "But this is for us to decide," the minister said, reflecting the desire for his government to take charge of the deposed president, blamed for many of the deaths and disappearances of hundreds of thousands during the Baath party's 35-years of authoritarian rule. Human Rights Minister Bakhtiar Amin said the US-led coalition and Iraq needed to forge a partnership not just on Saddam but also on the 4,000-5,000 prisoners they US-dominated forces have said they would detain. "The security dossier, including the detention of prisoners, is the object of a partnership between us and the coalition," he said. Iraqi spokesman Gurgis Sada said he believed the Americans wanted to be sure Saddam was in a secure facility after Bush said Tuesday he needed to know the jailed dictator would not be released. "I think the Americans wanted assurances, by their guarantees, that all details will be taken care of before transfer," he said. New prime minister Iyad Allawi said late Tuesday the United States would hand the ousted president over to the new Iraqi government for trial before it transfers sovereignty to Iraq on June 30. "The transfer of Saddam Hussein and the others (former leaders now in detention) will take place within two weeks," Allawi said in an interview on the Qatar-based satellite television Al-Jazeera satellite. "Yes, Saddam and the others will be handed over to the Iraqi government. Their trial will begin as soon as possible, God willing." An unkempt, long-haired and bearded Saddam was captured by US forces on December 13, after he was found hiding in a hole on a farm near his hometown of Tikrit. Saddam could stand in the dock of Iraq's special war crimes tribunal, accused of the large-scale killing of Shiite Marsh Arabs in southern Iraq in the late 1980s and 1990s, the gassing of Kurds in 1988, the invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the torture of Iranian prisoners during the 1980-1988 war with Iran. news.yahoo.com