Forget Scott Peterson; Take a Hike, Kobe…

The preliminaries for the real trial of this young century are getting underway this Thursday (and I'm not talking about Phil Spector or Robert Blake). Reuters reports:

Saddam Hussein will be handed over to Iraqi justice Wednesday, two days after the country regained sovereignty from Washington, but U.S. soldiers will still guard him to ensure he does not escape.

Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Tuesday Saddam and up to 11 top members of his ousted government would appear before Iraqi judges to be charged Thursday, although a trial was still months away.

Saddam would be charged with crimes against humanity for a 1988 massacre of Kurds, the 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, said Salem Chalabi, a lawyer leading the work of a tribunal that will try the former Iraqi leader.

Saddam's lawyer is already rebutting the case in the press, trying to delegitimize the process by claiming, "It will be a court of vengeance, a settling of scores." No duh.

Whole thing here.

Comments

[Will]

Okay... I'll be the first to make a half-ass prediction:

SADDAM will be executed before the end of July... if the trial is rushed, which I think it will be.

Either that or he will be found not-guilty, released, make the run for president (of Iraq) and win.

[Stephen Fetchet]

Fearless prediction #2: He will be found not guilty, and file a claim against the U.S. government for wrongful eviction, conversion, and intentional infliction of emotion al distress. His plaintiff's attorneys, Jeffrey Fieger and Johnny Cochrane, will cite Rasul and Al Odah as support for his Alien Tort Claims Act case, and win. Thanks to the claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress, the U.S. will owe treble damages. Not only will Saddam get Iraq back, but he will be entitled to two other comparably equivalent countries. The U.S. will hand over Iran and California, reasoning that they are (1) roughly as ungovernable as Iraq; (2) similarly racially, economically and religiously divided between regions; and (3) what Saddam bloody well deserves.

Meanwhile, Kerry will win the presidency with (trial lawyer) Johnny Edwards as Veep, on a foreign policy platform of "Sue 'em, Don't do 'em!"

[Gadfly]

Salem Chalabi. Any relation?

[Dan]

"It will be a court of vengeance, a settling of scores."

The classic definition of chutzpah is "killing your parents and pleading for sympathy because you're an orphan". But whoever thought up that definition never met Hussein's defense team. 🙂

[Kevin]

One more fearless prediction: Saddam will retain Mark Geragos and/or Johnnie Cochran by week's end.

[Highway]

I thought that Marion Barry was gonna run for president of Iraq... 😉

[Andrew Lynch]

"It will be a court of vengeance, a settling of scores."

Sounds like Henry Hyde's agenda in the late 90s.

[Mark Bahner]

I hope Saddam's lawyer doesn't know the Chewbacca Defense. 😉

[Mr. Nice Guy]

"I thought that Marion Barry was gonna run for president of Iraq... ;)"

True, he already has that Quadaffi fez, but they don't smoke crack in the Middle East, they prefer opium.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

"Gaddafi"

Just wanted to correct myself before one of those freaks chop my head off.

I don't want to die! I don't want to die!

[Fred Gillette]

I've always liked that Homerian (Simpson) word 'unblowupable'. How big will the security perimeter be and how many troops will be involved? Wherever Saddam is, that will be the Mother Of All Targets.

Fearless prediction #5. All Hell is about to break loose.

[drf]

yes, Fred, but these are those times that embiggen the smallest man.

[Dan]

"It will be a court of vengeance, a settling of scores."

Sounds like Henry Hyde's agenda in the late 90s.

Er... are you saying Clinton is as bad as Saddam Hussein? I don't think even Rush Limbaugh would go that far.