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Lawyers for Saddam Hussein - seen here at his court appearance last summer - say he is being illegally held by the U.S. and the new Iraqi |
Posted on 12/13/2004 2:56:51 AM PST by Happy2BMe
CBS/AP) Monday is the anniversary of the capture of Saddam Hussein but for troops in Iraq, there is no time for quiet reflection. The day brought another suicide bombing and news of the deaths of seven more U.S. Marines and an Iraqi translator.
The car bomb exploded at a checkpoint near the Green Zone, which houses government offices and foreign embassies in Baghdad. At least 13 people were killed and another 15 were injured.
The blast occurred when a vehicle that had been waiting in line to enter the zone at its western Harthiyah gate exploded as it drove up to the checkpoint. Fifteen other cars were destroyed in the blast.
Earlier Monday, U.S. officials announced that seven soldiers in the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed in two separate incidents while conducting "security and stabilization operations" in Anbar - the province which includes the city of Fallujah.
Military officials gave no other details and said that to do so could put other U.S. troops at risk.
The deaths of the Marines were reported a day after U.S. warplanes pounded Fallujah with missiles as rebel forces battled coalition troops in the city.
In Kirkuk Monday, gunmen shot to death an Iraqi translator working for U.S. forces and at the same time severely wounded an Iraqi passerby.
Translators and other Iraqis working for coalition forces have repeatedly been targeted by rebels, who consider them to be collaborators in the occupation of Iraq.
A year after ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was fished out of a hole in the ground and taken into custody by U.S. forces, the Dec. 13th anniversary of his arrest is being noted by his lawyers, in a statement issued from Jordan.
The lawyers - who were hired last year by Saddam's wife, Sajida - say he is being held illegally by U.S. and Iraqi authorities.
Accusing the U.S. of violating Saddam's human rights, the attorneys say his arrest and detention "was more of a forced abduction that later became compulsory concealment and solitary confinement, acts rejected by all international conventions."
The lawyers have not been able to speak with Saddam. And they were not present on July 1 when he was arraigned in Baghdad on preliminary charges, which include killing rival politicians, gassing Kurds, invading Kuwait in 1990 and suppressing popular uprisings in 1991.
The trial itself isn't expected to begin until 2006.
Many of the former Iraqi leader's top aides are also detained, awaiting trial.
Several of them - according to U.S. officials and a lawyer - have begun refusing meals in an apparent protest against their own upcoming trials.
In other recent developments:
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Lawyers for Saddam Hussein - seen here at his court appearance last summer - say he is being illegally held by the U.S. and the new Iraqi |
Monday is the anniversary of the capture of Saddam Hussein but for troops in Iraq, there is no time for quiet reflection.
And just why should our troops be taking a "moment of silence" to reflect on the imprisonment of Saddam anyway?
Our Iraqi "allies" sure know how to keep secrets, don't they?
Suicide bombers, mortar attacks, car bombs----all mysteriously appearing without the knowledge of any of our Iraqi "allies". Sgt Schultz would be proud of them.
We risk our military lives for these lowlifes? Let them kill each other. Protect the Kurds and Kuwaitis and let the rest of the area rot. Whomever appreciates us in Iraq must be doing a great job of staying quiet.
Of course, by lending themselves to killing us, they assure their places in Muslim Heaven.
Happy anniversary Saddam. Heh
"Man! Dig that groovy beat! I feel like daaancin' (yeahhh)!"
Thanks for the ping!
He'll be 'dancin' at the long end of a 6 foot rope before it's over.
Thanks Happy. Me, I would be happy if he died of something awful before the lawyers turn this into a feeding frenzy - and every day we will be forced to read and hear how poor old saddam was badly treated. Just the thought of a trial makes me ill. He simply deserves to die IMO.
Thanks for the ping!
Here is the OLD Iraqi voting form .....
Lots of options. (And now they're fighting to get him back?)
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