Iraqi Judge Recalls Hussein's Trial as a Turning Point

Raid Juhi Hamadi al-Saedi, in Washington this summer on a fellowship, was chief investigative judge of the special tribunal that tried Saddam Hussein. "This trial laid the groundwork for a new philosophy for Iraqis," he said. (By Gerald Martineau -- Post)
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"Saddam was a very manipulative politician," Juhi said. "He tried to control anyone in front of him. This is the conflict between you and the accused. Who controls whom? Who would actually lead the session?"

Hussein would give long, convoluted answers, he recalled, wresting attention to his agenda. But it was also his weakness. Juhi said he counted on his committing errors as he rambled on.

Hussein did. On one occasion, after the judges had tried for an hour to determine responsibility for orders to use chemical gas, Juhi threw the recalcitrant former president a curveball.

"So, usually, the commander of a regiment can issue orders to fire a chemical weapon?"

"No! Impossible!" Hussein thundered, implicating himself. "No one can fire one bomb, no single army regiment can move without an order from me. This is my prerogative. I will never give it up!"

Juhi sees that as his master stroke. "This is my accomplishment. I will not concede it to anyone else," he said jokingly about the moment that proved the high point of the trial for the prosecution.

Personally, Juhi said, he was not in favor of the death penalty, but the law required it. "It was a legal issue. The big issue inside of me when we finished was that we did it in the right way," he said.

He remains troubled by the botched handling of the last moments of Saddam's hanging.

"It is the last image, the last scene of this movie," he said. "You will remember the end all the time, not the beginning. We need the opportunity to change. Iraq is a strong country. I ask that you stay with the good people of Iraq to give us that chance."