just some hw i have to access at school cuz my printer aint working. no need to read. feel free to tho. haha!
Preliminary Outline:
Thesis: The trial of Saddam Hussein has had a huge affect on Iraq and the world and as they continue to hold the trial and wait for the result it is easy to see the Iraqis attitudes, how the trial affects Iraqi life, and Iraqi politics.
I. Iraqi people’s attitudes have been changed over this trial which ultimately is changing their opinions towards Saddam and the country.
A. Michael Scharf, a leading U.S. expert on international criminal law at Case School of Law talks about the guidelines layed out for the trial and what the Iraqi's and other leaders want. “They made it very clear that they wanted the death penalty to apply,” (de Nesnera).
B. "The main Shia parties want to see Mr Hussein convicted and executed as quickly as possible. Indeed, if some of the more radical Shias, such as the followers of Muqtada al-Sadr, had their way, they would probably dispense with the trial altogether" (“Saddams Chaotic”).
C. - "Duraid Fadhel said he hopes the legal process is thorough and fair because 'we do not want to hear people complain by saying that Saddam was executed without a trial.'"
- "Sabah Hashim said the 'end of this trial means the end of Saddam, so the delays will give hope for some people who think that Saddam might come to power again and the time will repeat itself'" then went on to say "'We want to see an end to this trial anyhow, so we can cross to another shore and start a new life” (Robertson)
D. "The attitude of Iraqis towards the trial is divided. Kurds and Shias almost all want to see the former dictator executed for mass murder while many Sunni Arabs believe the charges against him are exaggerated or faked.” (Cockburn).
E. "The attitude of Iraqis in Baghdad towards the trial depends on the community to which they belong. At the main gate leading to Baghdad University yesterday Shia students said Saddam Hussein should be executed while Sunnis generally said he should not be on trial" (Cockburn).
F. "Hassan Fahum, a Shia and a student of engineering, said: 'All the Iraqi people hate him and want him dead.' Abdullah Qassem Mustapha, a Sunni and another engineering student, said: 'Saddam didn't commit any crimes against the Iraqi people. The bodies in the mass graves are all Iranian soldiers killed in battle. In the end, the Americans will decide even if the verdict comes from an Iraqi judge.' Other Sunni students said that the trial was illegal under the occupation" (Cockburn).
G. "Maha Jaber Ali, a Shia woman working for the college of engineering, said: 'We want our revenge and I believe the judge will order him executed’” (Cockburn).
II. Also, one thing that is very evident in and through this trial is the affect Saddam has on the people and country even though he is no longer in power.
A. "Analysts say it is essential for Saddam Hussein to get a fair trial. But they also agree that will be a difficult task given the highly charged political situation in Iraq and the presence of a defendant who arouses so much passion among the population” (de Nesnera).
B. John Burns says "I think I'd have to say that they, like us, find it is most astonishing spectacle. And I'm talking here not just the communities that were the principal victims of Saddam: The Shiites and the Kurds and the Turkmens and others but also the Sunni-Arab minority that ruled through Saddam Hussein, in fact, ruled here for centuries” (Lehrer).
C. Then goes on to say "The horrors through which people were subjected by Saddam's secret police were finally being laid out to the evident astonishment even of people who until very recently were telling me that Saddam Hussein was a hero and hoped for his restoration" (Lehrer).
D. "Although he may be the most downtrodden of tyrants, through his stubborn attitude and toxic words, Saddam Hussein, has single-handedly kept the Sunni insurgency alive in Iraq" (Burke).
E. "This war crimes trial is going to transform a violent, mindless, and fallen dictator into a martyr for Sunni nationalism" (Burke).
III. Though Saddam Hussein is no longer a political leader in Iraq his actions still have much affect on its politics and now that he is under trial, he has opened opportunity for new Iraqi leadership in the political world.
A. Michael Scharf, a leading U.S. expert on international criminal law at Case School of Law says “During the tenure of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the death penalty did not apply. However, once authority transferred to the interim Iraqi government, the Iraqi National Assembly reinstituted the death penalty - and so now, that is the maximum penalty that would apply. That's just something the Iraqis felt very, very strongly about" (de Nesnera).
B. "Just as the war against Iraq enhanced the standing of an otherwise loathed despot, this war crimes trial is destined to invest Saddam Hussein with an artificial yet dangerously credible level of intellect and resolve" (Burke).
C. "There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein will be convicted of mass murder in the city of Dujail in 1982. However, while a guilty verdict may succeed in eliminating any possibility that Hussein could ever return to prominence in Iraq, it could very well ensure that a Hussein-like figure rises to power in postwar Iraq" (Burke).
D. "The Iraqi government and the US are nervous that Saddam Hussein will be able to launch an effective counterattack against them, denouncing the court as a puppet of the occupation. He can point to the failure of the present Iraqi government to provide security, electricity or employment, accusations likely to resonate with many Iraqis" (Cockburn).
E. "With the fall of Saddam Hussein, the revolutionary new opportunities have galvanized the Shiite community and sparked an extraordinary and rapid wave of identity politics and political activism that was not anticipated by American policymakers or even by most Iraqi Sunnis. The significance of this political turning point cannot be overestimated, either for Iraq or for the region" (Fuller).
F. - "Given the new freedom of politics in Iraq, both at the intellectual and activist level, the need for restraint from politics as a means of survival has diminished."
- "The urgent need to make important political and social decisions has grown as Iraq embarks on building a totally new political edifice" (Fuller).
Post Saddam Hussein’s trial. Who’s sane in the midst of this insane trial?
On October 19, former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein appeared in a Baghdad court. He, along with seven others, was charged with crimes against humanity, the torture and killing of more than 140 men and boys after a 1982 assassination attempt against him in the town of Dujail. The former Iraqi leader pleads not guilty. The former Iraqi leader also faces future charges of genocide and war crimes once the Dujail case is over, if the penalty is not death.
Iraqi people’s attitudes have been changed over this trial which ultimately is changing their opinions towards Saddam and the country. Michael Scharf, a leading U.S. expert on international criminal law at Case School of Law talks about the guidelines laid out for the trial and what the Iraqi's and other leaders want: “They made it very clear that they wanted the death penalty to apply” (de Nesnera). The death penalty was removed for quite a long time but before the trial begun the laws were changed back to the way they were when the death penalty applied. There are even whole people groups who want Mr. Hussein not only locked away but that he receives the death penalty so they can move one from this and without him. The main Shia party is a perfect example of this: "The main Shia parties want Mr. Hussein convicted and executed as quickly as possible. Indeed, if some of the more radical Shias, such as the followers of Muqtada al-Sadr, had their way, they would probably dispense with the trial altogether" (“Saddams Chaotic”). The Shia people group is a strong group that has and will continue to rise up in Iraq as leaders.
Others like Duraid Fadhel say “he hopes the legal process is thorough and fair because we do not want to hear people complain by saying that Saddam was executed without a trial.” This is definitely understandable. Without a fair and just trial, especially as it is being run in many cases by the US, the people and government might rise up in anger, not against Saddam’s sentence, but that it has been brought about by someone other than the Iraqis. They want the power in this trial which has become very evident in watching the trials on television and hearing the news reports. Many people just want this trial over because they know when it is that Saddam will be gone or as Sabah Hashim puts it: “The end of this trial means the end of Saddam.” The delays could give hope for some people who think that Saddam might come to power again. Sabah goes on to say: “We want to see an end to this trial anyhow, so we can cross to another shore and start a new life” (Robertson). Many Iraqi people just want the trial to be over and most of all want Saddam to get the death sentence because they know that a new life is just around the corner and they can already see the affects coming into their community which excites them. The attitudes of Iraqi people are divided within this trial. Kurds and Shias almost all want to see the former dictator executed for his mass murder but many Sunni Arabs think very strongly that the charges against him are exaggerated or even faked (Cockburn). A lot of the Iraqi attitudes towards the trial in certain places such as Baghdad depend on the community in which they have come from.
Some Baghdad University Shia students said: “Saddam Hussein should be executed.” While Sunni students generally said he shouldn’t even be on trial (Cockburn). Hassan Fahum, a Shia and a student of engineering, said: “All the Iraqi people hate him and want him dead.” Abdullah Qassem Mustapha, a Sunni and another engineering student, said: “Saddam didn't commit any crimes against the Iraqi people. The bodies in the mass graves are all Iranian soldiers killed in battle. In the end, the Americans will decide even if the verdict comes from an Iraqi judge” (Cockburn). So basically the trial is run by Americans under Iraqi law and the verdict of the trial depends on them and that Iraq has no power in that decision. Maha Jaber Ali, a Shia woman working for the college of engineering, said: “We want our revenge and I believe the judge will order him executed” (Cockburn). All this under the American’s orders though.
Also, one thing that is very evident in and through this trial is the affect Saddam has on the people and country even though he is no longer in power. Analysts say “it is essential for Saddam Hussein to get a fair trial.” But they also agree that will be a difficult task given the highly charged political situation in Iraq and the presence of a defendant who stirs up so much passion among the Iraqi people (de Nesnera). The population is anxiously waiting for the result and the political world within Iraq is “highly charged” or in other words they are ready for Saddam’s death and waiting to push on but in the mean time they are charging up so they will have full power when the verdict is made. “They” is unknown as there are many groups prepared to step up, but this will ultimately be determined by democratic vote. Saddam still has a hold on the people and politics in that his death determines where Iraq goes because even though he won’t be in power over Iraq if he was to be let free, but he still is respected by many political groups within Iraq and may one day rise back to a position of power.
The Iraqis find the trial as much of an astonishing spectacle as the rest of the world does. This isn’t just meaning the Iraqi communities that were the main victims of Saddam’s schemes, but also the Shiites, the Kurds, and the Turkmens and others like the Sunni-Arabs minority that, in fact, ruled through Saddam and in Iraq for centuries They Iraqis find the trial as much of an astonishing spectacle as the rest of the world does who is also viewing it. This isn’t just meaning the Iraqi communities that were the main victims of Saddam’s schemes, but also the Shiites, the Kurds, and the Turkmens and others like the Sunni-Arabs minority that, in fact, ruled through Saddam and in Iraq for centuries. The many horrors in which the victims of Saddam’s secret police were subjected are finally laid out so that even those who at one point said “Saddam Hussein was a hero” and those who hoped for his restoration might be astonished by the evidence proving Saddam to be the opposite of this.
(Lehrer). Although Hussein may be the most “downtrodden of tyrants”, as said by John Burn, through his stubborn attitude and strong words, Saddam Hussein, has “single-handedly kept the Sunni insurgency alive in Iraq” (Burke). That is, he has encouraged and motivated the Sunni groups or parties to continue to plot and rebel against the constituted government through acts of corruption and armed conflict. John continued by saying: "This war crimes trial is going to transform a violent, mindless, and fallen dictator into a martyr for Sunni nationalism" (Burke). If he receives the death penalty then his followers (the Sunni) will think of him as a martyr for the cause of Islam. This may cause a violent uproar in Iraq between the people because now their leader is dead they can fight to join Saddam as a martyr.
Though Saddam Hussein is no longer a political leader in Iraq his actions still have much affect on its politics and now that he is under trial, he has opened opportunity for new Iraqi leadership in the political world. Michael Scharf, a leading U.S. expert on international criminal law at Case School of Law says: “During the tenure of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the death penalty did not apply. However, once authority transferred to the interim Iraqi government, the Iraqi National Assembly reinstituted the death penalty - and so now, that is the maximum penalty that would apply. That's just something the Iraqis felt very, very strongly about" (de Nesnera). This shows that Iraqis will go so far as to change the court laws so Saddam will be brought to justice and get the deserved penalty. Once again this shows how much Iraq wants to move on from this whole trial and push-on politically.
Just like the war against Iraq has made stronger an otherwise “loathed despot”, the trial against Saddam is, as said by Patrick Burke: “destined to invest an artificial yet dangerously credible level of intellect and resolve" (Burke). Burke believes that in all of this Saddam will find things clearer and become more creative in what he does and if and when he receives the death penalty his intellect and his ability to make things clearer might be invested into his followers, those being the Sunni groups and that they will rise up with a clear and creative purpose.
Burke continues in his report saying: "There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein will be convicted of mass murder in the city of Dujail in 1982.” Everything and everyone, but the Sunni are against him. Even they are not awfully worried about whether he lives or dies for they can carry on and look to rise up as Hussein-like figures as Burke goes on to say: “However, while a guilty verdict may succeed in eliminating any possibility that Hussein could ever return to prominence in Iraq, it could very well ensure that a Hussein-like figure rises to power in postwar Iraq" (Burke). Even if Saddam was to make it through this trial without facing the death penalty his only prominence or even leadership would be with his followers and that all other political positions would no longer welcome him. Others are said to be rising up in his place though.
The United States and especially Iraq are concerned as to whether Saddam has the power to set a counterattack on them and that the trial may be the puppet or the cover up for what is going on internally. Also that Saddam might make known to the people the failure to present them with their rights to “security, electricity, employment [….]” (Cockburn). With the Saddam out of the picture, “revolutionary new opportunities” which have been strengthening the Shiite community or as Fuller puts it “have galvanized” their community are setting off a wave of politics who are acting in accordance with goals set for them by Hussein or even by themselves. These of which no one, not the American policymakers or even the Sunnis, had anticipated. Fuller says: “The significance of this political turning point cannot be overestimated, either for Iraq or for the region”. It cannot be comprehended what will happen in this situation and it is hard to overestimate the outcome. With the new freedom of politics in Iraq, both at the intellectual and activist level, the need for restraint from politics as a means of survival has lessened. Leaders no longer need to be held back but are free to open up and speak out for support in leading the country and when the time comes for a democratic vote, that is when decision will be made as to who and how the country will be led. Fuller shares with the readers the urgent need to make important political and social decisions and how it has grown as Iraq embarks on building a totally new political structure or as he puts it “edifice” (Fuller).
Saddam really has had and will continue to have a huge impact on Iraq. On its people, their attitudes, and ultimately the political aspect which is changing so dramatically and that change that is to come is not easily foreseen. As this trial drags on, those who have become weary, wait. Some still have hope for Saddam and his restoration, which to most seems very unlikely.
Saddam pleads not guilty. The world pleads him guilty.
Works Cited
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