Posted on 08/21/2006 1:22:30 PM PDT by South40
He is accused of destroying entire villages and killing tens of thousands of men, women and children in the cruelest way, by poison gas and nerve agents, but it was the claim that Kurdish women were raped under his leadership that made former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein fly into an indignant rage on the first day of his new trial for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity Monday morning.
"I can never accept the claim that an Iraqi woman was raped while Saddam is president," the ousted leader shouted, as he slammed the podium before him and pointed defiantly at prosecutors who read the charges. "How could I walk with my head up?"
In his protestations Saddam not only referred to himself in the third person but pointedly referred to ethnic Kurds as "Iraqi." He is accused of committing genocide on the non-Arab minority people in the north of Iraq. To prove the charge, prosecutors must demonstrate that the Kurds were targeted specifically for their ethnicity.
"An Iraqi woman raped while Saddam is the leader?" Saddam repeatedly shouted.
Saddam stands trial before the Iraqi High Tribunal in the fortified Green Zone of Baghdad. He and his six co-defendants, including his cousin known as "Chemical Ali, Ali Hassan al-Majid, face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their role in the 1987-88 anti-Kurdish campaign known under the code name of of "Anfal" ("Spoils of War"). The eight-stage campaign was directed against Kurds near the Iraq-Iran border and had 182,000 victims, according to prosecutors. Saddam and al Majid are the only two accused of genocide.
The five other defendants in the trial are former Defense Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmad, former intelligence chief Saber Abdul Aziz al-Douri, former Republican Guard Commander Hussein al-Tirkiti, former Nineveh Provincial Governor Taher Tafwiq al-Ani and former top military commander Farhan Mutlaq al-Jubouri.
Saddam refused to state his name--"You know who I am"--before the court and did not enter a plea, dismissing the entire tribunal as a "court of occupation." Chief Judge Abdullah al-Amiri entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.
At his first trial which began Oct. 19, 2005, Saddam and seven others were accused of killing 148 Shi'ites in the village of Dujail after a foiled assassination attempt in 1982. A verdict in that trial is expected Oct. 16 of this year. Saddam faces the death penalty in both trials.
You need to Clinton-Parse it...clearly, if Saddam was willing to gas them, Kurds aren't really Iraqi's, so no Iraqi woman was raped.
Maybe it is best to bring up to his face some charges of what he did. Let him answer the claims.
If he was willing to say "I did wrong" a trial may not be necessary. He's kicking and screaming and claiming superiority.
"How could I walk with my head up?"
Good question!
Interviews with Udays bodyguards after the war told stories of him once seeing a young woman sitting with her boyfriend at a park. He ordered them to grab the girl while one held a gun to the boyfriends head. He took the girl back to an apartment he owned, raped her, and then tossed her out a 10 story window because she kept fighting him.
Another charming story was Uday was at the wedding party for one of his dad's buddies daughter. She caught his eye so during the party, he ordered his bodyguards to beat the husband, and then took her back to his palace still in her wedding dress and raped her for many days.
He can walk with his head up because his actions were mundane compared to islamic sharia law.
Cialis?
He feels left out becuase he's got a weak willy.
I'd like to see him explode.. period.
How about a PPV for the victims, that ought to bring in some dough.
Iraq's former President Saddam Hussein looks on during the first day of the Anfal trial in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone Monday, Aug. 21, 2006. Saddam opened his second trial with a show of defiance Monday, refusing to enter a plea on charges of genocide and war crimes connected to his scorched-earth offensive against Kurds nearly two decades ago. (AP Photo/Daniel Berehulak, Pool)
Good job there weegee. Put the pervert on the spot and compare these two criminals.
I'd like to see his neck stretched, publicly.
Guess he forgot the RAPE ROOMS...
I hope they don't give in and give him his choice, he wants a firing squad. I agree the gallows is more fitting his deeds.
Of course he is upset!
It is only "rape" if four Muslim men witnessed tha act and so testify in court that the woman was indeed forced.
He is really p!$$ed that they think they can find the required witnesses.
Good point. He knows islame prevents a woman from testifying against a man.
Jeez.
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