USA: President George W. Bush calls the Saddam Hussein verdict a milestone while Democrats vow to change the course of the war if they seize control of Congress

President George W. Bush hailed the conviction of Saddam Hussein as a milestone in Iraq but Democrats vowed to take the war there in a new direction if they seize control of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday (November 7). The former Iraq president was sentenced to death by hanging by a U.S.- sponsored court in Baghdad on Sunday (November 5) after being found guilty of crimes against humanity. Bush did not directly address the death sentence that has been assailed by Washington's close European allies. The verdict came just two days before U.S. congressional elections in which Bush's Republicans are at risk of losing control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Democrats have tried to make the election a referendum on Bush's handling of the Iraq war. "Saddam Hussein's trial is a milestone in the Iraqi people's effort to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law," Bush told reporters in Waco as he left for Nebraska and Kansas to campaign for Republican candidates. But election-season bickering quickly broke out. Democrats said justice was served but that it was unclear how the verdict would change the course of the war. Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committe, Rahm Emanuel said, "I think it's good that he's behind bars and getting the justice that he deserves. But I would also like to remind that about three years ago when he was caught, and he's been in jail for three years, about 800 Americans were dead at that point. Today there's a little over 2,800 Americans are dead." Bush, who is trying to fend off a strong challenge from Democrats in Tuesday's elections, has warned repeatedly on the campaign trail of the consequences of abandoning Iraq's fledgling government and has accused Democrats of attacking him over the war without offering their own plan. On on the streets of New York City, there was somewhat more mixed reaction to the news of Saddam Hussein's sentencing. Douglas Ahammer, who believes that Hussein was involved in the Al Qaeda attacks on U.S. soil in September 2001, said simply, "He deserves it." Jason Kiaffas said, "I think he should pay for the crimes. I don't necessarily agree with the death penalty, but I definitely think he should pay for it. By hanging? I don't necessarily agree with that." Texan Linda Peoples, who is in New York for Sunday's New York Marathon agreed with the sentencing, saying, "I think it's justified. I really didn't like the man, I don't like what he does, I think people are afraid of what he did when they pulled out last time." When asked about the U.S.'s role in Hussein's rise to power and ultimate removal and sentencing, Jason Kiaffas told Reuters that in cases such as this, U.S. government has one opinion and the American people often have a different point of view. "I definitely think he should pay for it. By hanging? I don't necessarily agree with that," he said. Rights groups said the year-long trial -- during the course of which three defence lawyers were murdered and the original judge quit citing political interference -- did not meet the standards that would allow it to settle the question. U.S. officials say the trial met Iraqi legal standards, and that defence lawyers who were killed had been offered better security, but turned it down. The Dujail case was the first against Saddam, but far from the biggest. One concern for those hoping that the trials would promote reconciliation has been that a death sentence in this first case could prevent others from being heard. The second case is already under way, with Saddam accused of genocide for killing 180,000 Kurds in the 1980s. That trial was criticised by rights groups after the government sacked its chief judge for saying Saddam was "not a dictator". The New York-based International Center for Transitional Justice, which has monitored the Dujail trial closely with staff in Baghdad, said appeals judges should consider ordering a re-trial to fix its flaws.

ITN Source | November 6, 2006

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