It’s now possible that the tribunal process may be crippled by a severe brain drain.
“Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi, a former Pentagon favorite” — I love that description — has dismissed nine members of the Iraqi Special Tribunal because they’re Baathists. Chalabi is reviewing the “cases of 19 others, including the chief investigative judge.”
I liked how INN World Report began its report of this story on today’s broadcast:
“While he awaits his pardon* from Jordan for fraud and embezzlement, interim Deputy PM Chalabi…” (Typed from memory; there’s no transcript.)
___________________
* Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has asked Jordan’s King Abdullah to absolve Ahmad Chalabi of crimes for which Jordan sentenced him, in absentia, to prison. (Science Daily, May 20, 2005)
“We believe that many Baathists have infiltrated the special tribunal and they should be dismissed,” said Entifadh Qanbar, Chalabi’s spokesman.
“The reasons behind the delay in the trial of Saddam is the presence of Baathists in the special tribunal, and they represent an obstacle to the trial of the former regime members.” (AP/TimesLeader)
Col. Pat Lang (bio) at No Quarter adds this observation to today’s news story:
Hmmm! What is that noise in the distance? Tumbrils? Can we not manage a fair trial for these people. They are undoubtedly guilty of crimes against humanity. Can we not manage the dignity of Nuremberg?
On June 12, Juan Cole commented — in reference to the Baathist opposition leaders, not the tribunal participants — that:
a political settlement has to begin with a formal amnesty for all Baath Party members who cannot be proved to have done anything criminal.
My feeling is that Cole’s simple, logical standard should also be applied to Baathist tribunal members and judges. Chalabi made a wrong move here, and I predict this may complicate, not fix, any problems in the tribunal process.
Chalabi has, in effect, cut the head off the judicial process. Without experienced tribunal members and judges, the process is doomed. Is that what Chalabi wants?
Update [2005-7-20 22:58:5 by SusanHu]:
I just found this in my Inbox:
U.S. Said Delaying Saddam Interrogations
Iraqi Justice Minister Says U.S. Is Trying to Delay Interrogations of Saddam Hussein
Iraqi’s justice minister said Tuesday that U.S. officials are trying to delay interrogations of Saddam Hussein.
Justice Minister Abdel Hussein Shandal, in Brussels for an international conference on Iraq, also accused the U.S. of concealing information about the ousted Iraqi leader.
“It seems there are lots of secrets they want to hide,” he told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview.
Shandal also said Saddam’s trial would be over by the end of the year.
American officials have privately urged caution about rushing into a trial, saying the Iraqis need to developed a solid judicial system. They also worry it could interfere with the important constitution writing process and inflame sectarian tensions.
Though Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari’s Shiite-led government is determined to put Saddam on trial, circumstances may not allow it.
His government earlier this month said Saddam’s trial would be held within two months, but later backtracked. No trial date has been set for Saddam or any of the other former regime officials being held in custody.
Saddam’s trial could be a highly divisive issue in already turbulent Iraq. If court proceedings begin in two months, they will coincide with the crucial process of drafting the constitution. The draft must be finished by mid-August and approved in a referendum two months later, clearing the way for December elections. …
