Saddam lashes out at U.S. 'occupiers and invaders'

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A combative Saddam Hussein lashed out Monday at his treatment by American "occupiers and invaders" and lectured the chief judge about leadership as his trial resumed in a rambling and unfocused session.\nTwo of the seven other defendants also spoke out during the two-and-a-half hour hearing, complaining of their treatment in detention or dissatisfaction with their court-appointed counsel. The court's tolerance of such comments drew sharp complaints from Shiite politicians who contend the tribunal is trying too hard to accommodate an ousted dictator who should have already been convicted and executed.\n"The chief judge should be changed and replaced by someone who is strict and courageous," said Shiite legislator Ali al-Adeeb, a senior official in Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's party.\nThe tribunal adjourned until next week to give the defense time to replace lawyers slain since the trial opened Oct. 19. Monday was only the second session of the trial.\nSaddam, immaculately groomed and the only defendant wearing Western clothes, moved quickly to try to seize control of the proceedings at the heavily guarded Baghdad court.\nDressed in black trousers and a gray jacket with a white handkerchief in the breast pocket, the 68-year-old former president was the last defendant to enter the chamber.\nWhile other defendants appeared frightened and exhausted, Saddam swaggered confidently to his seat, greeting people along the way with the traditional Arabic greeting, "Peace be upon the people of peace" as he cradled a copy of the Quran.\nHe began with a verse from the Muslim holy book that reminds believers who aspire for heaven that God knows who actually participated in jihad, or holy war: "You thought you would be rewarded with heaven, as if God doesn't know who took part in jihad and who has persevered."\nHe then complained that he had to walk up four flights of stairs in shackles and accompanied by "foreign guards" because the elevator was not working.\nThe chief judge, Rizgar Mohammed Amin, said he would tell the police not to let that happen again.\n"You are the chief judge," Saddam snapped back. "I don't want you to tell them. I want you to order them. They are in our country. You have the sovereignty. You are Iraqi and they are foreigners and occupiers. They are invaders. You should order them."\nSaddam also complained that some of his papers had been taken from him.\n"How can a defendant defend himself if his pen was taken? Saddam Hussein's pen and papers were taken. I don't mean a white paper. There are papers downstairs that include my remarks in which I express my opinion," he said.\nAmin ordered bailiffs to give Saddam pen and paper.\nThe tribunal allowed former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark and prominent lawyers from Qatar and Jordan to join the defense team as advisers, a move aimed at convincing foreign human rights groups that the trial would meet international standards of fairness.\nAlso, the chief judge ordered all handcuffs and shackles removed from the defendants before they entered the courtroom -- another gesture toward the accused.\nThe defendants stand accused of killing more than 140 Shiite Muslims after an assassination attempt against Saddam in the Shiite town of Dujail in 1982. Convictions could bring a sentence of death by hanging.\nNone of the nearly 35 prosecution witnesses testified Monday, but the prosecution entered into evidence two videotapes -- one shot in the aftermath of the assassination attempt showing Saddam in military uniform interrogating three villagers. The second was a videotaped statement by former intelligence officer Wadah Israel al-Sheik made last month shortly before he died of cancer.\nAmin read the transcript as the tape played without sound. According to the transcript, al-Sheik, who appeared frail and sat in a wheelchair in a U.S.-controlled hospital, said about 400 people were detained after the assassination attempt, although he estimated only seven to 12 gunmen actively participated in the ambush of Saddam's convoy.\n"I don't know why so many people were arrested," al-Sheik said, adding that Ibrahim, head of intelligence at the time, "was the one directly giving the orders."\nA day after the assassination attempt, whole families were rounded up and taken to Abu Ghraib prison, he said.\nAl-Sheik noted that co-defendant Taha Yassin Ramadan, a former vice president, headed a committee that ordered orchards -- the basis of Dujail's livelihood -- to be destroyed because they were used to conceal the assailants.\nAt the end of the session, Saddam's half brother and fellow defendant, Barazan Ibrahim, complained he had not received proper medical treatment since being diagnosed with cancer and that this amounted to "indirect murder." Defendant Awad al-Bandar claimed he and Saddam had been threatened in court last month. The judge told him to submit his complaints in writing.\nAmin then adjourned the hearing until next Monday. Saddam's personal attorney, Khalil al-Dulaimi, complained the defense needed at least a month. Amin suspended the hearing for 10 minutes to confer with the four other judges and then announced that the Monday date was firm.