Ahmed al-Barak, a member of Iraq's council, was interviewed by the Iraqi newspaper, al-Zaman on 4/17. According to the interview, the powers that be have finally decided to begin Hussein's trial in July. The case against Hussein will primarily focus upon usage of WMD's, his international terror network, and his foreign bank accounts. Dara Noor al-Din, another member of the council, is responsible for preparing the case against Hussein. The trial will most likely be open to the public.
Poll: Can Saddam Hussein get a fair trial?
This news was translated from a
Norwegian writeup. Other than what I've translated, there's not much more information about the trial itself, including whether, or if, it will be a jury trial. In fact, it may be just more smoke and mirrors from the authority in Iraq.
There was a lot of speculation after Hussein's capture, as to whether he would get a trial at all. I was inclined to believe at the time that he would likely die in captivity, but now it seems to me that there may be some benefit to kicking this thing off asap.
The risk for the administration, of course, is allowing him to call witnesses. Heh. Milosevic called Clinton today...
Things are heating up here in the land of fjords (and trolls), but it seems that, so far, the Norwegian troops will stay the course, at least until July 1. They seem to consider an early pullout something less than honorable, in spite of the risks.