Saddam Verdict Nothing to Celebrate

The verdict in the Saddam Hussein show trial is nothing to celebrate. I know that few will agree with that statement today, but I expect those opinions to change. Perhaps in the coming weeks, we may be able to soberly reflect upon what this verdict means and how it will affect the US.

If we wanted to insure that Saddam Hussein was justly tried for any crimes against humanity he may have committed, he should have been remanded to the Hague, where a world court would have heard his case. He would have been adequately represented by counsel. His accusers and other witnesses could have testified openly. His lawyers and judges would not have been kidnapped and murdered. He would not have been tried by a Shiite court looking for revenge against a deposed Sunni leader.

But that is not what happened. And that mistake, made once again by the Bush administration, will lead to something bad happening here. As retribution for this farce they would like to call a "fair and balanced" trial.

If Saddam Hussein committed war crimes. crimes against humanity, or other grave offenses, he should have been tried like Slobodan Milosevic, the former president of Yugoslavia and Serbia. At the Hague, Hussein could have railed against the system all he wanted, at least the system would have been a fair one.

I know you will not hear me now. But if you are afraid of another terrorist attack on the US in the future, this trial will have been the catalyst. Perhaps Mr. Bush will get smart and have Saddam "renditioned" out of Iraq.