As the poster boy for American military involvement in Iraq, it's good to see Saddam Hussein's name in the news again. Thanks to a recent interview with GQ magazine, we know Saddam is an avid Doritos eater and hates Froot Loops. But it's nice to know that no one has forgotten about his crimes against humanity.
Iraq has brought its first formal charges against the country's former dictator. The charges were brought forth by the chief investigative judge of the Iraqi Special Tribunal, Judge Raed Juhi.
The charges are in connection with a series of detentions and executions during 1982, which followed an assassination attempt on Saddam.
According to the tribunal 15 people were executed and about 1,500 spent years in prison after the assassination attempt, although they had no trial date or even charges.
The tribunal also reports that 143 people were executed after being put on "show trials" following the assassination attempt.
The assassination attempt occurred July 8, 1982 when a convoy carrying Saddam through a Shiite village was attacked by a small group of residents.
Although the execution of those people is horrible, we're certain Saddam has done worse (namely the gassing of about 5,000 Kurds). Hopefully, more evidence can be unearthed as to how much damage Saddam did to his country and his people. We hope at some point, every injustice and horrible act that Saddam committed is revealed and that he is charged for each one.
Saddam could stand trial as early as September.
He committed atrocities against the Iraqi people. This is widely known. He was captured in a spider hole by U.S. troops in December 2003 and has been in custody since.
Therefore, it's important to note that Saddam is standing trial in Iraq and not the United States. It is under new Iraqi leadership that he will be tried. This is a big step for Iraq.
According to one of Saddam Hussein's attorneys, the former dictator feels he shouldn't be tried for this particular incident because he is immune to the charges under Iraq's constitution. But, that's just wishful thinking on his part.
Iraq has a new constitution, which should prevent Saddam Hussein from being able to get away with his crimes.
It's important for Iraq to try Saddam and try him fairly. This is the first of many charges seeking justice to be brought against a man who denied it to so many people.
