Ex-U.S. Attorney General Ready To Defend Saddam

IslamOnline.net ^ | Dec. 15 2003 | Mustafa Abdel-Halim

[Senator Pardek]

CAIRO, December 15 (IslamOnline.net) – Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsy Clarke expressed readiness Sunday, December 14, to act as defense lawyer for ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, with western analysts suspecting the captured leader would be given fair trial.

"Certainly, why not. I am ready to act in his defense," Clarke told IslamOnline.net shortly after the U.S. confirmed the detention of Saddam near Tikrit.

Clarke, currently in Cairo to attend a two-day international anti-occupation conference, stressed that Saddam – however brutal – should be give a "fair, objective and impartial trial".

"Saddam must be domestically prosecuted first and - if this fails - he should be referred to an international court," said the former American official, known for his staunch opposition to the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.

He doubted, however, that the ousted Iraqi president would be given such a fair trial.

Clarke averred that neither the U.S.-installed Interim Governing Council (IGC) nor the occupation forces is eligible to try the overthrown president.

"The IGC does not represent Iraq. It is Bush's council," said the former U.S. attorney general.

He noted that the Iraqi body was quick to say that DNA test proved the captured man was Saddam.

"Do you think that they can take the test themselves. They are puppets," Clarke maintained.

For the occupation forces to take over the trial, he dismissed this as a would-be ridiculous proposal.

"Occupation of Iraq is in itself an international crime" and runs counter to common decency and moral integrity.

Asked if Saddam could be taken to the International Criminal Court, the former U.S. attorney general whimsically ruled out the suggestion, noting Washington does not even recognize the court.

[Republican Wildcat]

For what it's worth, this is an e-mail that was sent out back in January about this guy:

FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL CASTS CHRIST AS TERRORIST

Establishment media didn't raise an eyebrow last Wednesday when former
U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark compared Jesus Christ to a terrorist
during a press conference for a new anti-war group. Only CNS News took
note when Clark remarked:

"The Christian Church overwhelmingly -- there are exceptions -- who
choose to call Mohammed a terrorist. They could call Jesus a terrorist,
too. I mean, he was pretty tough on money lenders a time or two."

Clark further stated: "The greatest moral force there by far is Islam
because it is present in the prisons. They're the ones that are
respected, they're the ones that are up at 5 a.m. and worshiping,
they're the ones that are praying five times a day and not ashamed to
submit themselves to what they believe is a greater power."

Get the full story only from CNS News at:
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\200301\CUL20030110a.html

CNS News reports the attorney general under Lyndon Johnson made his
remarks apparently in answer to Rev. Jerry Falwell, who referred to
Mohammed as a "terrorist" and a "man of war" in the Oct. 6 edition of
"60 Minutes."

As hard as it is to believe that anyone would call the most loving and
kind Person the world has ever known a terrorist, it's even more
difficult to understand why such anathema didn't register with any of
our national media. The silence is deafening, and it and doesn't sound
good for the future of America when news is so slanted that such
sacrilege slides completely off news pages and webpages.

Such lapses in news judgement are becoming far too common.
ConservativPetitions.com soon will launch a petition asking major media
to report the remarks of Clark and those of Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) as
they do Rev. Falwell's and former Senate minority leader Trent Lott's.

Sen. Murray? Yes, speaking before a group of high school students
recently, Murray held up Osama bin Laden as a role model for U.S.
foreign policy, depict the acknowledged terrorist leader as a
humanitarian reformer who does good deeds on behalf of the poor and
downtrodden of the world.

These are just two of many reasons I check CNSnews.com every day. At
this point, the only place I know you can view the story of Clark's
sacrilege is at:
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\200301\CUL20030110a.html

(Note: you may have to copy and paste this long address without spaces
in your browser)

Phil Sheldon
ConservativePetitions.com

[Luis Gonzalez]

"John Adams defended the British Soldiers for the Boston Massacre. If we don't supply Saddam with a fair trial, we are no better than he was while he was in power. I thought the President hit the nail on the head yesterday. He said that Saddam would be treated fairly unlike he treated the people in Iraq."

Thanks for bringing some sanity and common sense into this forum.

[CurlyBill]

You won't see Dershowitz defending Saddam in any form or fashion.

Why don't you think so?

[hole_n_one]

Church leaders see long road for Iraq even after Saddam's capture

[Chad Fairbanks]

I will never understand the opinion of the Vatican on this.

Ditto. I will also never understand those who think the Vatican is infallible.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Check your mail. Here we go again. This is typical.

[NeoCaveman]

I will never understand the opinion of the Vatican on this. Ditto.
I will also never understand those who think the Vatican is infallible.

Only on teachings on faith and morals, this is neither

Let Saddam have justice, Iraqi style.
I imagine that will make what happened to Romania's dictator look like a picnic

[RedBloodedAmerican]

"Most of us were victims of his dictatorship, but we almost all applauded him when he was in power. ...," he said.

[mathurine]

Where does this commie pond scum get the money to roam aroud the world and the country preaching whatever his sort preach? One tires eventually of a person who works so hard to go against the grain. He was wierd even in hippie times and his father should be impeached posthumously for siring a dipshit.

[CyberCowboy777]

No Doubt.

But now your going to start somthing you may not want to spend the time on... Them are fighting words for some (not for me per say - though I like to mix it up on just about any subject)

[Catspaw]

The sad thing is that, despite the heinousness of Saddam's crimes, the families of his victims will see little satisfaction when Saddam is put on trial and executed. There's nothing that'll give them back their loved ones--and no death can be as excrucitating as what Saddam did to his victims.

[NeoCaveman]

The Pope, in a speech to members of a Catholic television station, added: "Violence and weapons can never resolve the problems of man."

The Pope may have said that but it's not binding, as it would fly in the face of 2,000 years of Catholic tradition, including the jsut war theory.

The man can have an opinion, even a wrong one.

[CyberCowboy777]

"Violence and weapons can never resolve the problems of man."

It seemed to solve the pressing little problem we had back in the early Forties.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Is Ramsey Clarke, Wesley Clarke's dad?

[NittanyLion]

LOL. Yeah, right.

And by the way, I'm a man...

[hole_n_one]

Is Ramsey Clarke, Wesley Clarke's dad?

ha!

[squidly]

He's been in favor of toppling Saddam all along.

[kitkat]

***Pope Doesn't Put Bush and Saddam on Same Level
Email this information to a friend
Pope Doesn't Put Bush and Saddam on Same Level, Says Cardinal Tucci
Explains that Holy Father Wants Disarmament -- and Respect for Law

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 7, 2003 (Zenit.org).- By sending special emissaries to meet with the presidents of the United States and Iraq, John Paul II has not put Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush on the same level, a Holy See representative said.

"It is an absurd position, as the Pope has always insisted on disarmament," said Cardinal Roberto Tucci, a member of the administrative council of Vatican Radio, in response to media comments.

"When sending Cardinal Roger Etchegaray to meet with Saddam Hussein, he took this message: an urgent request to take disarmament seriously, keeping in mind above all the evil he would bring on his own country and the innocent population, if he does not collaborate fully with the U.N. inspectors," Cardinal Tucci said on Vatican Radio.

"No, the Pope does not put them on the same level," he said. "Moreover, he asks the heads of state [and] important people of the political world, to remember that in politics it is not possible to forget ethics or international law."

"I think that today it is a characteristic in all fields, that the Church is one of the few authorities that insists a lot on the importance of reasoning according to principles of truth," the cardinal continued.

This is "the enormous contribution" the Pope is making with his latest initiatives, the cardinal clarified.

"What is lovely is that this contribution has been amply recognized in the Christian community, beyond the borders of Catholicism, and by authorities of the non-Christian world," he added.

"No one will be able to say that the Pope has not done enough," Cardinal Tucci concluded. "He has gone beyond all the activities that could be thought of a few months ago to avoid a war." ***

Feel better now?

[NeoCaveman]

"Violence and weapons can never resolve the problems of man."
It seemed to solve the pressing little problem we had back in the early Forties.

I totally agree. It solved fascism, slavery, etc.

Cut the Pope some slack, he wasn't claiming any infallability when he made those dumb comments.

[CyberCowboy777]

While I love my Catholic Brothers, we are not to put our trust in any man on the matter of faith. Faith comes by hearing (the Spirit) and hearing by the Word.

Other than that, even within the Catholic teachings - the Pope is wrong on this.