I agree with you...You can be the foreign press will make hay out of this from day one. The world will be clamoring for the court to allow him to make a statement and you can bet that there will be daily demonstrations in front the court house/building with his supporters. They will attempt to intimidate the legal system. Also prepare yourselves to hearing Saddam defending himself regards Kuwait (invasion supposedly authorized by the US itself), chemical weapons were provided by the US against the Kurds and Iran, etc. and that the millions who died were a result from the sanctions. For those who were killed by his administration, he will point out that he was simply trying to defend his government, common law, etc. and will point out the hypocrisy of us killing thousands of Iraqi's ourselves trying to defend the current government & common law. I think we will regret he didn't die in a shoot-out or an induced illness...
To add.....if we don't allow Saddam to defend himself in the way the "world" and his supporters want him to, we will be accused of putting on a "show trial" just like we accused the Chinese and Russians did in bygone era's. Once again, I think this going to be a fiasco...
I'll take that bet. Any protestor outside the courthouse who isn't actively firing a weapon would be pounded into the asphalt by ordinary Iraqi citizens within seconds. Saddam was hated.