The trial of Saddam Hussein marks the first time since the UN was
created that a head of state has been put on trial by an invading,
occupying power. This book seeks to draw public attention to the threat
this precedent poses to developing nations worldwide, and to its
distortive influence on the further evolution of international law.
Al-Ani documents the trail of illegalities marking the destruction of
Iraq at the hands of the US and UK, from the genocidal sanctions of the
1990s, the US State Department pre-invasion planning that commenced in
2001, and the 2003 invasion, to the setting up and proceedings of the
tribunal that swiftly dispatched Saddam Hussein.
While the Tribunal was intended to promote the image of a triumphant
Iraqi democracy, the US was actually in control of all stages of the
trial. It drafted the Tribunal's Statute; determined the trial venue and
what charges would be brought; researched, compiled, stored, and
prevented access to evidence and documentation; selected and trained the
judges, and micro-managed the proceedings.
The trial itself was so farcical as to provoke international
condemnation. International human rights groups, including Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch, as well as UN bodies such as the
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the High Commissioner for Human
Rights, have stated that the Iraqi Special Tribunal and its legal
process does not meet international standards for a fair trial.
The behavior of the United States and its allies sets an ugly precedent
for its intervention in other targeted states. This detailed examination
reveals how the 'New World' is in fact being 'ordered'. It presents a
terrifying prospect of ruthless dictatorship, deprivation of
independence, and removal of the human right to justice. It lays bare
the level of deception, hypocrisy, and flagrant flouting of even its own
laws to which the U.S. was willing to resort in order to achieve its
objective: the subjugation of a sovereign nation.
