From the AP:
“Questioning a Kurdish witness Thursday, Saddam said, ‘I wonder why this man wanted to meet with me, if I am a dictator?’
The judge interrupted: ‘You were not a dictator. People around you made you (look like) a dictator.’
“‘Thank you,’ Saddam responded, bowing his head in respect.”
Yikes.
I’ve said all along that trying Saddam in court is a farce (here and here, with a sympathetic riposte from Other Charlotte, who is a lawyer)-Nuremberg (see previous links) was the first time victors tried to use the court system to validate a military victory. Churchill was agin’ it. Like me, Churchill belonged to the shoot ‘em school of thought. The judge in the Saddam trial has once again demonstrated that the legal system was not designed to resolve many (most?) military or diplomatic conflicts on the international stage.
I realize that, if Saddam is not convicted this time, other “charges” have been “filed.” But isn’t this all a travesty?
And what happens if he is ultimately turned loose?