Saddam will not go to trial

[LEW]

This was my first thought...Either his will die or a major upsurge will free him by any means.

But...then I played this out some more, what if he does go to trial, any guess when that will start.....most likely say August, September, October.........

[fishnfla]

1. The trial as a campaign issue

oy-vey!

[jonoboy]

2. he will have a heart attack in his cell

[soothsayer]

3. or we'll give him that fast growing cancer like we did with jack ruby

or he'll "hang himself in his cell"

possibly using moustache hairs

[thebigidea]

4. I don't see a trial happening either

perhaps he's killed by a guard or something, and we have some FOX-approved story of the guard taking revenge for the gassing of his begonias or the confinement of his goldfish to a "rape room."

[Ninga]

6. "SADDAM" will be as quiet

as a church mouse......

[AP]

5. They'll have a Noriega-style trial in Florida (ie, rigged).

He should be tried in the Hague.

He and Milosevic can share a cell.

[slor]

7. Maybe he will suffer...

a mysterious death, whilst eating pretzels, and displaying once again our great leaders prowess for surviving his battle with that most deadly of snacks!

[Bucky]

8. It's not when the trail will start; It will end in late October, however.

You heard it here first

[Junkdrawer]

9. They just set up tribunals to try former Ba'athists last week...

Prague, 11 December 2003 (RFE/RL) -- The U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council this week set up a special tribunal to try former members of the Iraqi Ba'athist regime for crimes against humanity.

The creation of the tribunal, which will be staffed and led by Iraqi nationals, resulted from months of work. It will take many more months before the first trials actually start in Baghdad.

Iraqi Governing Council president Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, in announcing the tribunal yesterday, said it was a historic achievement.

"This court will try cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from 17 July 1968 till 1 May 2003," al-Hakim said.

More...

http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2003/12/11122003181030.asp

How Conveeeenient....

[LEW]

12. Right on Junkdrawer

This is all too conveeeenient.....just in time to boost confidence here in US for more Christmas spending......there is alot to play out yet.

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

15. That article tells the story

It will be a political show trial put on by the Iraqi council with the approval of the Americans. The rest of the world will be deprived of seeing Saddam given a true trial following international law and the adminstration continues to thumb their nose at international laws and the US continues to slide to the bottom in world opinion.

The Bush adminstration thinks the US will be feared, not loved, like that ambassador said, but really we will end up hated more than feared.

Why can't we go back to how it was after WW II when the US believed in international law?

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

10. It would have to be a secret trial

I am reading an article in Harpers about Slobo's trial. The article was obvously written before Saddam's capture and says that he would never be put on trial the way Slobo's trial is being prosecuted. The ICC follows laws that specify an open trial and Slobo is taking full advantage.

The article says Saddam could not only bring up the Bush Sr. and Rumsfeld relationship, but question whether the Iraq invasion was legal and ask why weren't the WMDs found.

The trial would have to be secret and how would that sit with the rest of the world? They know Saddam was a murderous dictator and deserves punishment and the families of the Iraqis he murdered deserve to see justice, so they will not respect a secret trial. It will raise more questions about what does Bush have to hide.

[Junkdrawer]

14. Oh, that'll be the issue...

Now, will any Democratic candidate press for an open trial? Or will a "we cannot give this man a platform to endanger our troops" message prevail?

[Junkdrawer]

16. Yep. Bottom line: He knows too much for an open trial. n/t

[E Pluribus Unum]

11. I believe he will go to trial

because it would be a political bonanza for Bush. Imagine watching the Iraq's try him and then execute him and Bush taking the credit.
He will make sure that it happens.

[Philosophy]

13. There will be a trial

It will be before some Iraqi tribunal hand-picked by Bremer. During the trial everything we thought was a lie by administration leading up to the war will be vindicated, and the link between Saddam and 9-11 and Osama, and the fact that Saddam really did have all the WMDs but managed to give them away to other terrorists just before the invasion (to keep us perpetually scared in the future) will be conclusively proven.

Saddam's execution will be scheduled for September 11, 2004.