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Ex-U.S. Attorney General Ready To Defend Saddam
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"Saddam
must be domestically prosecuted," Clarke said
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By
Mustafa Abdel-Halim, IOL Staff
CAIRO,
December 15 (IslamOnline.net) – Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsy
Clarke expressed readiness Sunday, December 14, to act as defense
lawyer for ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, with western
analysts suspecting the captured leader would be given fair trial.
"Certainly,
why not. I am ready to act in his defense," Clarke told
IslamOnline.net shortly after the U.S. confirmed the detention of
Saddam near Tikrit.
Clarke,
currently in Cairo to attend a two-day international anti-occupation
conference, stressed that Saddam – however brutal – should be give
a "fair, objective and impartial trial".
"Saddam
must be domestically prosecuted first and - if this fails - he should
be referred to an international court," said the former American
official, known for his staunch opposition to the U.S.-led invasion
and occupation of Iraq.
He
doubted, however, that the ousted Iraqi president would be given such
a fair trial.
Clarke
averred that neither the U.S.-installed Interim Governing Council
(IGC) nor the occupation forces is eligible to try the overthrown
president.
"The
IGC does not represent Iraq. It is Bush's council," said the
former U.S. attorney general.
He
noted that the Iraqi body was quick to say that DNA test proved the
captured man was Saddam.
"Do
you think that they can take the test themselves. They are
puppets," Clarke maintained.
For
the occupation forces to take over the trial, he dismissed this as a
would-be ridiculous proposal.
"Occupation
of Iraq is in itself an international crime" and runs counter to
common decency and moral integrity.
Asked
if Saddam could be taken to the International Criminal Court, the
former U.S. attorney general whimsically ruled out the suggestion,
noting Washington does not even recognize the court.
U.N.
Intervention
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"I
think the Iraqi resistance could be much stronger (after
Saddam’s capture)," said Galloway
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But
former British lawmaker Tony Benn said that since Bush ordered a
mission to assassinate Saddam, the chances for him to have a just
trial would be "minimum".
Benn,
also a broadcaster, had made a televised interview with Saddam days
before the U.S.-led invasion, where the former Iraqi leader denied
possessing weapons of
mass destruction or having links to Al-Qaeda as propagated by
Washington.
"He
is a brutal dictator, never make any mistake about that, but we are
against war and occupation" of the oil-rich country, Benn told
IOL.
However,
Saddam "must be treated respectfully, and assumed innocent until
proven guilty," he stressed.
On
his part, former U.N. envoy to Iraq Denis Halliday appealed to U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan to take action to secure "a
proper" tribunal to try Saddam.
"I
hope that Annan would stand up and express human rights" of
Saddam regardless of his earlier crimes against his people, he said.
But
there is no conditions for this with the continued state of
occupation, said Halliday, who resigned a few years ago charging that
the U.N. weapons program had much harmed Iraqi people than their
leaders.
'No
Excuses Now'
For
prominent British legislator George Galloway, the Iraqi resistance
could pick up after the news, as the people of the occupied country
have nothing to fear except a long-term foreign occupation.
"I
think the Iraqi resistance could be much stronger, for two
reasons," Galloway said.
Saddam’s
supporters would be inflamed by humiliation he suffered at the hands
of the U.S. occupation forces during after the detention, he
elaborated.
For
his opponents in the country, they no longer fear his return to power
– a possibility that deterred many Iraqis from joining resistance
operations and – and would now join hands to liberate their country,
added the British lawmaker.
The
U.S. soldiers also have no excuse not to back up and leave the country
after Saddam’s capture, Galloway said.
"We
have much bigger enemies now," the staunch anti-war
campaigner noted.
He
stressed that Arab leaders should watch their steps "as they are
all, without exception, corrupt kings and puppet leaders".
They
are fears, however, that Saddam’s capture might distract attention
from international mobilization to end the U.S.-led occupation of
Iraq.
"We
must not be distracted by the propaganda that would be built on
this," said British Muslim activist Salma Yaqoub.
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