Posted on 08/23/2006 7:46:22 PM PDT by jdm
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 23 — Defense lawyers for Saddam Hussein accused a former Kurdish militant of treason on Wednesday, arguing on the third day of Mr. Hussein’s genocide trial that chemical attacks on Kurds were legitimate acts against local militias conspiring with Iran.
The emerging strategy — evident in comments from lawyers and two of Mr. Hussein’s six co-defendants — came on a day filled with continued testimony about Kurdish suffering during the Anfal military campaign against northern villages in 1988.
The court adjourned until Sept. 11 at the request of defense lawyers who said they needed more time to prepare.
On Wednesday, three middle-aged women testified for the prosecution, all wearing traditional black dresses and offering similar tales of a sweet, mysterious smell that blinded them temporarily, killed their relatives and forced them to hide in caves.
The attacks they described preceded by a few months the start of the Anfal campaign, the heart of the case against Mr. Hussein and his co-defendants. But the witnesses said that the attacks — allegedly with mustard gas or nerve agents — represented the start of a wider effort to destroy everything they had.
“I lost all my livestock, all my property, I lost all my health,” said Adiba Awla Baiz, 45, a mother of five from Balasan. “I lost my sight. My children lost their sight.”
She said she also lost the ability to give birth. After two miscarriages and the death of an infant, “The doctor told me my womb was affected by chemical weapons,” she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
And a majority of Dems would have just allowed this monster to stay in power. Had he been in power longer, he may well have sold weapons to terrorists who would have done this to New York or D.C.
For surviving, I'm guessing.
'my womb was affected by chemical weapons'
Interesting breathing method. Must Research further.
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