As the World (of Saddam) Turns.
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein admitted on Wednesday he had ordered the trial of Muslim Shi’ites who were executed in the 1980s and said he had approved the “razing” of their farms.
Saddam made the extraordinary confessions during his second day in court this week, where prosecutors read out documents, showed satellite images and played audio tapes in an attempt to link Saddam to the execution of 148 Shi’ites after a 1982 assassination attempt on his life in Dujail.
“I referred them to the revolutionary court according to the law. Awad was implementing the law, he had a right to convict and acquit,” Saddam said, referring to his co-accused Awad al- Bandar, the former chief of the Revolutionary Court.
“I razed them … we specified the farmland of those who were convicted and I signed,” Saddam told the court trying him for crimes against humanity.
“It’s the right of the state to re-own or compensate. So where is the crime?”
It’s hard to know if Saddam is resigned to the fact that he’ll be convicted and executed for crimes against humanity. At certain points the ex-dictator speaks as if he believes he’s invincible. We’ve heard him say over and over again how he believes he’s still the president of Iraq. I’m he has people around him who give reports on the insurgent movement within the country. He could believe completely delusional and think that eventually the terrorists will win and that will usher in a triumphant return to power. At other times, he speaks as if he knows the odds are against him. Lunatic rantings? i doubt it. Deep down I would bet most people believe Saddam is a pretty smart guy, and he knows exactly what is happening to him and his country.
The trial has adjourned until March 12.