Saddam Hussein dodges questions as he faces first cross-examination

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Saddam Hussein dodged questions from prosecutors cross-examining him for the first time Wednesday over a crackdown against Shiites in the 1980s. But he acknowledged approving death sentences for 148 Shiites, saying he was convinced they tried to assassinate him.

At times sharp and combative but often relaxed or even smiling, the former Iraqi leader declined to confirm his signature on documents. When prosecutors presented identity cards of children whose death sentences they said he signed, he maintained they were forged.

"You can buy IDs like this in the market," Saddam said. "Is it the responsibility of the head of the state to check the IDs of defendants and see how old they are?"

Standing alone in a black suit in the defendants' pen, Saddam refrained from the outbursts he has made in previous sessions. But he denounced the court as "illegitimate" and attempted to tap into Sunni resentment of the Shiite-led Interior Ministry, which many Sunnis accuse of backing death squads.

The Interior Ministry "kills thousands of people on the streets and tortures them," Saddam said.

"Don't venture into political matters," Chief Judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman admonished him.

"If you are scared of the interior minister, he doesn't scare my dog," Saddam retorted.

The session came a day after the tribunal indicted Saddam and six former members of his regime on separate charges of genocide for a campaign against Kurds in the 1980s that killed an estimated 100,000 people.

A separate trial will be held on those charges, possibly beginning in 45 days, though some officials have questioned whether the tribunal will be able to conduct two trials simultaneously. In any case, it means a drawn-out legal process amid continued violence and political wrangling over the formation of Iraq's next government.

In the current trial, Saddam and seven other former members of his regime face possible execution by hanging if convicted of a crackdown on Shiites launched after a 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the town of Dujail. In the sweep that followed, 148 Shiites were killed and hundreds were imprisoned. Many say they were tortured.

After a six-hour session, the trial adjourned until Thursday. Prosecutors appeared to have finished questioning Saddam.

Chief Prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi asked Saddam about his approval of the death sentences handed down by his Revolutionary Court, which prosecutors have argued gave the Shiites only a cursory trial.

"That is one of the duties of the president," Saddam replied. "I had the right to question the judgment. But I was convinced the evidence that was presented was sufficient" to show their guilt.

Asked if he had read the evidence against the 148 suspects before referring them for trial, Saddam replied, "If the constitution requires the head of state to review documents before referral, then I abided by it."

"At the time this crime was committed against the head of state, Saddam Hussein, we were in a state of war," Saddam said Wednesday, referring to the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

"Don't you know that now children and women are being killed?" Saddam asked, apparently trying to shift attention to the country's current violence. "Now, the bodies are being thrown on the street as if they were dogs....An Iraqi is not a dog."

Al-Moussawi asked Saddam if he was aware that 28 of the Shiites sentenced to death were under 18 and presented identity cards showing some were minors. Prosecutors have said an 11-year-old boy was among those killed.

"I sentence an underage Iraqi to death? I wouldn't do it even if you were to carve my eyes out," Saddam said.

He added that identity cards can easily be forged. "I could get a hold of an ID saying Mr. Raouf is 25 years old," he added, waving toward the judge.

During the questioning, Saddam cooperated with the court at times, grinning at the chief prosecutor and reciting poetry to the judge, whom he casually addressed by his first name as "Mr. Raouf."

But at times, his relaxed demeanor gave way to a more condescending and irritable side.

He snapped at Abdel-Rahman when the judge tried to stop Saddam from talking politics. "You were convicted during my time and I pardoned you. What could have brought you here if it weren't for politics?" Saddam told the judge.

Defense lawyers have claimed Abdel-Rahman, a Kurd, was convicted in absentia during Saddam's era for activity with opposition Kurds. Abdel-Rahman has denied that.

Al-Moussawi displayed documents -- including some approving medals for intelligence agents involved in the crackdown and authorizing the razing of Dujail farmlands. Al-Moussawi repeatedly asked if the signatures on the documents were Saddam's.

Saddam avoided a direct reply, refusing to confirm the signatures but stopping short of saying they were forged.

The prosecutors also showed a video they said was taken in the 1980s that showed Saddam talking about "enemies of the revolution," and asserting: "I would chop off their heads without one hair of mine shaking ... As for the ranks of the enemies, if someone died during investigations, he has no value."

Pressed by the judge, the prosecutor acknowledged the tape was not directly connected to the Dujail case but insisted it was relevant.

Saddam said the comments were shown out of context and that he was talking about things "outside the borders" at a time when Iraq was at war.

Defense lawyer Bushra al-Khalil argued against submitting the video, and Abdel-Rahman chided her for interrupting. After an argument, he ordered her out of the courtroom. Guards escorted her out of the court, but Abdel-Rahman later said she would be allowed to return.