Saddam's Trial

The New York Times' lead story today deals with plans for the trial of Saddam Hussein, and, not surprisingly, there is much in it to make anyone who really wants to see perpetrators of human rights crimes held accountable suspicious, along with a few faint glimmers of hope.

Start with the person in charge of the proceedings -- Ahmad Chalabi's nephew -- and go on to the fact that a trial this year, if it provides a forum for recounting the crimes of Saddam, could be a Godsend to an administration that, having lost its original casus belli, is turning increasingly to using human rights as an excuse for the war. The connection between Saddam's trial and our presidential election is so much on the minds of all concerned that Salem Chalabi sounds quite apologetic about the fact that he may not be able to accomodate Bush's political need for a pre-election trial.

Of course that's where the glimmer of hope comes in. The shortage of time before the formal transfer of governmental authority may make it impossible for the Bush administration to get the show trial it wants. The article focuses on an almost comical effort by American investigators and prosecutors to get into Iraq and take charge of the process without it looking like they're running the show. And at the same time, they are very much aware that, come July, they have no more say in what happens. They'd like to have a big, wide-ranging trial, graphically recounting the crimes of a monster. Not so wide-ranging, of course, that it allows any mention of people who helped the monster, but big enough to put evil on display. But if the Iraqis themselves take over in July, it may not work out that way.

Just because the Bushies can't run things exactly the way they want doesn't guarantee anything resembling justice, of course. The planned transfer of authority is still murky, and who knows how much influence over this trial the US will still have after July. Moreover, even without a politicized American role, the Iraqis themsleves have neither the resources nor the judicial system to deal with this.

There are better alternatives. Let's just hope that by early next year we have an administration that understands that.

Posted by Jeanne at 10:09 AM in Human Rights, Iraq, Law and Justice | Permalink