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Almost the first action taken by the interim Iraqi prime minister Iyad Allawi on Day One of Iraqi sovereignty, June 29, was to announce that his government would take legal custody of ex-ruler Saddam Hussein and eleven top ousted Baath leaders the following day. Among them, are Saddams cousin Ali Majid, known as Chemical Ali. In apparent contradiction to the haste he has shown in getting hold of his deposed predecessors, Allawi announced that many months would elapse before they were brought to trial.
The new ruler gave the impression that he was assured and calm enough to hold Saddam under US outer protection for as long as needed in order to properly prepare his trial on war crimes and crimes against humanity.
However, according to DEBKAfiles counter-terror experts, there was more than meets the eye about the instant handover of the deposed president to his newly-sovereign successor and the foot-dragging on his trial. What Allawi did not tell the media is that he aims to keep Saddam and his circle under tight control and on tenterhooks, as hostages of the new regime.
Though trained as a neurologist, the new prime minister is no tender plant; he also has an insiders knowledge of the enemy. Having joined the Baath underground as a young man and serve in one of Saddams security squads, he became disillusioned and fled Iraq in the late 1980s. He then co-founded an exile group with fellow ex-Baathists and worked closely with the American CIA.
Allawi, a secular Shiite, is therefore familiar with the inner workings of two intelligence services.
Intensely aware of the security concerns weighing down on his administration, the Iraqi prime minister understands full well that both his political future and physical survival depend on his skill in managing the twilight zone in which Iraqi Baath insurgents and their allies collide with the 130,000 American soldiers shoring up his regime.
From the moment he assumed office, he became a prime target for assassins. His murder would provide a short cut for the Iraqi Baath and al Qaeda seeking to topple the Iraqi administration provisionally installed to assume sovereignty and shepherd Iraq to a democratic election. Allawi realized he needed some urgent life insurance, an ace in the hole for his survival.
What he has done therefore is to gain control of Saddam and his top 11 regime officials as hostages to guarantee his life. The insurgents will be given to understand that violence against the prime minister will be met with the fast trial and execution of a member of Saddams dirty dozen. It will therefore be in Saddams vital interest to keep his successor in good health.
As long as the insurgents attack American, British and Iraqi troops, the deposed dictator and his men will languish in prison without trial. This will give the new Iraqi regime a breathing space of several months to get to grips with the mighty task of bringing security to the country in time for elections, without looking over his shoulder all the time for an assassin.
This equation may not quite square with the vision of a great democratic Middle East as presented by US president George W. Bush to Istanbul University students on the shores of the Bosphorus Tuesday, while Awalli was talking in Baghdad about his plans for Saddam. However, given the savagery of the war raging in Iraq now and in the foreseeable future, the new prime ministers plan, geared to the top priority of keeping him alive, may be the more realistic.
Originally posted by NightTrain
I don't agree.
I think having Saddam in custody of the new Iraqi government is an important step for Iraq. It helps give legitimacy in the eyes of the populace by having the former tyrant imprisoned awaiting trial. Since this is an interim government, and their constitution is not yet completed or in implemented, their judicial system logically isn't running yet, either.
Another nice benefit is that local ME tyrants are watching this with interest. It's bad news for them. A tyrant never wants to have the roles reversed. It's rather unpleasant.
This article assumes, somehow, that the fighting that's taking place is because of Saddam's loyalists that want him back. Everything I've read & heard tells me that the vast majority of combatants are terrorist foriegners.
The 'insurance' part doesn't make any sense. Not once has any demand been made to release Saddam.
By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Legal custody of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) and 11 others was transferred to the Iraqis on Wednesday, an international official said.
The defendants were informed individually of their rights, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. An Iraqi judge witnessed the proceedings.
Originally posted by NightTrain
I don't agree.
I think having Saddam in custody of the new Iraqi government is an important step for Iraq. It helps give legitimacy in the eyes of the populace by having the former tyrant imprisoned awaiting trial. Since this is an interim government, and their constitution is not yet completed or in implemented, their judicial system logically isn't running yet, either.
Another nice benefit is that local ME tyrants are watching this with interest. It's bad news for them. A tyrant never wants to have the roles reversed. It's rather unpleasant.
This article assumes, somehow, that the fighting that's taking place is because of Saddam's loyalists that want him back. Everything I've read & heard tells me that the vast majority of combatants are terrorist foriegners.
The 'insurance' part doesn't make any sense. Not once has any demand been made to release Saddam.
Originally posted by ajwps
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=870
It seems that the new Iraqi government and its leader will use Saddam to protect themselves while the Americans and coalition forces fight and die.
Originally posted by dilloduck
This is Iraqs government and therefore thier decision. Did you expect Iraq to be a clone of America. He has been thier tormentor for decades. If they decide it would help solidify the new Iraq to delay his trial, it's thier right to do so. Are critics going to use decisions by the fledgling Iraqi govt. as a club against them or will they get the benefit of thier rookie status?
