Saddam Pleads Innocent, Gets Into Scuffle

[sabra]

http://www.dhonline.com/articles/2005/10/18/ap/headline...

Saddam Pleads Innocent, Gets Into Scuffle


BAGHDAD, Iraq - A defiant Saddam Hussein pleaded innocent to charges of murder and torture as his long-awaited trial began Wednesday with the one-time dictator arguing about the legitimacy of the court and scuffling with guards.

...

Saddam _ holding a copy of the Quran he brought with him into the session and held throughout _ replied quietly, "I said what I said. I am not guilty," referring to his arguments earlier in the session.

Amin read out the plea, "Innocent."

The confrontation then became physical. When a break was called, Saddam stood, smiling, and asked to step out of the room. When two guards tried to grab his arms to escort him out, he angrily shook them off.

They tried to grab him again, and Saddam struggled to free himself. Saddam and the guards shoved each other and yelled for about a minute.

[underpants]

1. "But a too-busy President Bush did not watch,..."

apparently W WAS having lunch with Bono so then...there is that.

[Blaq Dem]

2. Will the TRUE evidence come out in this trial?

1982 is a long time. I wonder what took them so long to prosecute Saddam? I'm sure the Death Cult wouldn't want the evidence of Reagan giving Iraq those gases he used to kill the Kurds. Most of the evidence and paperwork probably been bombed or looted by now.

Job well done?
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82 /


Shaking Hands: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein greets Donald Rumsfeld, then special envoy of President Ronald Reagan, in Baghdad on December 20, 1983.

[MADem]

3. Your link is not working--censors at work????

Here is another one from a different source, but same story: http://www.petoskeynews.com/articles/2005/10/18/ap/head...

Saddam is not going gently into that good night, and he is getting his way in small things:

....It ended with Saddam getting his way, and he was allowed to walk independently, with the two guards behind him, out of the room for the break.

Many Iraqis and others across the Middle East were glued to their television sets to watch the first-ever criminal trial of an Arab leader.

The proceedings were aired with about a 20-minute delay on state-run Iraqi television and on satellite stations across Iraq and the Arab world. But technical quality was poor, with the sound cutting out frequently and the picture going blank several times.

But a too-busy President Bush did not watch, even as the White House hailed the trial as a key step in Iraq's transition to a functioning democracy. MORE at LINK

.....
Oh well, no more Saddam distractions until NOV 28th. How WILL Monkeyboy wag the dog without being able to drag out his old buddy???

[sabra]

4. thanks :-)

[goclark]

5. Sure wish GW and the crime family were in those seats

[Carolab]

6. I find this highly suspect.

The proceedings were aired with about a 20-minute delay on state-run Iraqi television and on satellite stations across Iraq and the Arab world. But technical quality was poor, with the sound cutting out frequently and the picture going blank several times.

*********

Didn't a new high-tech communications system just get installed courtesy of our tax money?

I suspect they are having these "glitches" at critical moments...just like the "computer glitches" in our elections.