When Saddam ruled the day
Twenty-five years ago, he showed his secrets for survival: Be crafty--and be ruthless
All 68 of the senior Baathists arrested on July 22 and after were tried together, in a court presided over by Saddam allies, including Barzan al-Tikriti, who was head of the Mukhabarat and one of Saddam's three half brothers. (Like Saddam, he is now imprisoned in Iraq, awaiting trial.) The court was headed by senior Baathist Naim Haddad, who said, according to Khatib: "I have permission to judge by the name of the Iraqi people. I am accusing you of treason. For this, under Iraqi law No. 214, you will face the death penalty." It took two minutes for the court to hand down the sentences--22 to death and the rest to years in prison.
Today, as they watch Saddam face a judge for his crimes, those who witnessed the horrible day a quarter century ago have mixed feelings. "He made a giant mistake," says Dabdab, "But it is illegal that they put the president in jail." He admits, though, that he does not want to talk more openly, because he may want to rebuild the party and stand for election next year.
But Khatib thinks differently. He just returned to the country last November, after 10 years in hiding overseas. And while he dislikes the American influence, he says, "There's an Arabic saying: 'If it goes from worse to bad, it's still an improvement.' " Saddam, he says, is getting what he deserves--and perhaps better than he deserves. "When I saw him sitting there, and the judge talking to him nicely," says Khatib, "I couldn't help but think that I didn't have that when I sat in his court."
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