The Trial of Saddam Hussein and The Fallout of The War

The Trial of Saddam Hussein

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The fallout in the Middle East from the regime change in Iraq

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Death Sentence Confirmed

An Iraqi appeals court has upheld the death sentence against Taha Yassin Ramadan, Saddam Hussein's former vice president.

Taha Yassin Ramadan was convicted in November, along with Hussein and six others, for the killing of some 140 Shi'a in the 1980s.

He was initially sentenced to life in prison, but that sentence was later raised by a higher court and automatically sent to an appeals panel.

Ramadan's execution is to be carried out within 30 days.

Human Rights Watch has called for the death sentence against Ramadan to be repealed.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

The Illegal War

Hans Blix, former UN weapons inspector, waded into the row about the legality of the Iraq war by saying that Prime Minister Tony Blair and his government "exercised spin" in exaggerating the case for the war in Iraq.

He went on to describe the conflict as "clearly illegal".

He said that pre-war intelligence, eg the UK government dossier which claimed Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and could deploy some within 45 minutes, appeared to have deliberately overstated the case for war.

Mr Blix said that he believed that the occupation of Iraq, overall, had been a complete failure.

"I think everything in Iraq after the invasion has been a tragedy. The only positive thing, I think, is the disappearance of Saddam Hussein."

Let us trust that the leaders who took us into this failed occupation leave office soon.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Iraq's Refugee Crisis

Channel Four have produced a damning report on the worsening refugee crisis in Iraq.

Millions of refugees are fleeing the conflict in Iraq country. Where is the coalition of the willing when it comes to their care?

Read and watch the report here Channel Four.

Halliburton Move

Halliburton announced on Sunday that it plans to open a new corporate headquarters in Dubai.

Some US lawmakers have raised concerns that Halliburton, which is the Pentagon's largest contractor in Iraq and holds a logistics contract valued at over $25BN, might be able to reduce its tax burden by moving its headquarters to Dubai.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., asked whether it might really be a back-door way to enable Halliburton to expand its business dealings with Iran or avoid paying U.S. taxes.

Halliburton used to employ US Vice President Dick Cheney.

Saddam's Judge Seeks Asylum in The UK

Raouf Abdul Rahman, the judge who sentenced Saddam Hussein to death, has asked for political asylum in Britain.

Raouf Abdul Rahman and his family have received death threats from insurgents linked to the former ruling Ba'ath Party.

The judge, a Kurd, took control of Saddam's trial in Baghdad last year to end a series of interruptions by defendants and political speeches which had reduced the legal process to chaos and extended the hearing by months.

He also told Saddam, at one stage, to remember that he was a prisoner on trial for his life and no longer the dictator of Iraq.

Iraq is spiralling out of control.