US says Saddam to face justice he denied Iraqis

1.00pm

WASHINGTON - The White House said on Thursday Saddam Hussein would face the justice he denied the Iraqi people and brushed aside his assertions at a court hearing that President George W Bush was "the real criminal."

"Saddam Hussein is going to say all sorts of things during this trial," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters. "What is important is that Saddam Hussein and his band of oppressors are facing justice by the Iraqi people and in an Iraqi court," he added.

The television footage of Saddam's hearing in Baghdad to face charges of crimes against humanity was the first of the former Iraqi dictator since US soldiers captured him in December.

McClellan said the trial was the first step to help Iraqis deal with decades of brutality under Saddam and showed the rule of law was now part of a new Iraq.

"Saddam Hussein is going to face justice he denied the Iraqi people, including hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis who were victims of his brutality," he said.

The United States contributed $75 million for the special Iraqi tribunal investigating Saddam and members of his Baath Party, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told a briefing on Thursday.

Saddam faced the court three days after the United States handed formal sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government, 15 months after the US-led invasion of the country.

The preliminary charges against Saddam referred to the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, suppression of Kurdish and Shi'ite revolts after the 1991 Gulf War, poison gas attacks and other massacres of Kurds, the killing of religious leaders in 1974 and the killing of political figures over three decades.

"I am Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq," he repeated, before grilling the unnamed young judge about his authority.

"This is all a theatre," Saddam said with a half-smile. "The real criminal is Bush."

Video footage of the 67-year-old Saddam, his face worn and deeply lined with heavy bags under the eyes, was broadcast around the world soon after his 30-minute court appearance.

Bush, who saw snippets of television coverage of the hearing, made no mention of Saddam at two public events at the White House on Thursday.

Doubts among Americans over Bush's decision to oust Saddam by invading Iraq last year, which the president portrays as part of his war on terrorism, have undermined Bush's popularity as he fights for re-election in November.

Vice President Dick Cheney, in a speech in New Orleans on Thursday, repeated his position that Saddam's government had "long-established ties with al Qaeda," the militant Islamic group behind the Sept 11, 2001, attacks. An independent US investigative panel has said it found no evidence of collaboration between Iraq and al Qaeda.

Ereli noted the tribunal was an Iraqi process, but said the US Justice Department sent a team of 50 lawyers to Iraq in March.

He said the United States was working with nongovernmental organizations to gather evidence "pertaining to matters under consideration by the court."

Asked if Saddam could get a fair trial, Ereli said, "I think that the Iraqis are committed to that and that there is a recognition by all involved that this process and its conclusion needs to be seen as fair, transparent and equitable, and that is what everyone is very mindful of."

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq