The Calm, Dignified Manner…
…of soon-to-be-executed despot Saddam Hussein is certainly striking, is it not?:
Waving a finger and pounding his desk, Saddam Hussein told the judges in his trial to “go to hell” and vowed not to return to court Wednesday.
The article is silent on which finger was waved.
The outburst came at the end of a daylong session Tuesday in which a woman, speaking behind a beige curtain and with her voice disguised, told of beatings, torture and sexual humiliation when she was a teenager at the hands of security agents.
The ousted Iraqi president sat stone-faced and silent while she spoke. But after hours of testimony from the woman and another two witnesses, he exploded with anger.
Saddam, dressed in a dark suit and white shirt and clutching a Quran, complained that he and the seven other defendants were tired and had been deprived of opportunities to shower, have a change of clothes, exercise or go for a smoke.
“This is terrorism,” he declared.
So, we see how things stand in Saddam’s world. Accuse me of rape, torture, and murder, hey, whatever – but by Allah, don’t deprive me of my smokes!…
I’m not the first to note this, but the judge in this trial is missing an enormous opportunity to make the rule of law clear to the Iraqi people watching the trial. Part of the rule of law is that defendants get their say in court. Another part is that they don’t get their say by interrupting the proceedings for long tirades whenever they feel like it — such defendants end up sitting through the proceedings wearing a gag. And defendants certainly don’t get to decide whether or not to show up in court!!
I realize I’m expecting quite a bit from a man who spent decades living under the rule of a megalomaniacal monster with unfettered powers — expecting him to now be able to relate to that man as just a defendant in his courtroom — but it’s an enormously important opportunity being squandered.
Yeah, the judge definitely needs to establish who’s in charge here – and it ain’t the guy behind the dock…