Saddam Hussein to stay in American hands for now, Iraq's war crimes chief

By Associated Press, 5/12/2004 09:09


BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) Saddam Hussein will not likely be handed over to Iraqi authorities for trial before the June 30 transfer of power to an interim government, Iraq's war crimes chief said Wednesday, reversing a claim he made one day earlier.

Salem Chalabi, the head of Iraq's war crimes tribunal, told reporters Tuesday in Kuwait that Saddam would definitely be handed over to the Iraqis before Iraq assumes sovereignty and trials would begin early next year.

''We will put 100 people ... including Saddam Hussein, on trial,'' he said Tuesday. The suspects, he added, ''will be delivered to us by the coalition before the transfer of power.''

U.S. authorities disputed the timetable, and later Chalabi told The Associated Press that the Americans would turn over Saddam and other former regime figures ''if we are able to hold them in custody.''

~snip~
more: http://www.boston.com/dailynews/133/world/Saddam_Hussein_to_stay_in_Amer:.shtml

:eyes: another day, another flip-flop.

Why is this guy, of all guys, the head of the war crimes tribunal? This is the embezzeler who told the administration we would be greeted with flowers isn't it?

Salem is the one who issued the arrest warrant for Al Sadr, I think.

All I saw was the name Chalabi and it didn't register that it is a different one.

Is Salem worlds apart from his brother or did the apple not fall to far from the tree?

if we turned him over to Iraq's fledgling new Puppetocracy and they made him their leader!