sherman&grant Wrote:

OUGwave Wrote:Their real problem is that their client is guilty as sin and there aren't many defensive strategies available to them. Meeting with him won't solve that.

Actually, I think the real problem is that we want him tried by the new Iraq government. As I recall, the Geneva Convention prohibits turning over prisoners held by a detaining power, to anything but another power (signatory to the Convention). The new Iraq government is not yet organized, it is not recognized, and it is not a "Power" as the term has meaning under the Convention.

So, to whom shall we turn over Sadam for trial?

Once we "hand over sovereignty" at the end of June, the occupation will technically end and the Iraqi authority will be the legitimate authority in Iraq. The CPA will be abolished. We just don't know what the Iraqi government will look like yet. We are relying on U.N. Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to figure that out for us, and once he does, it will be formed, blessed by the UN, and recgonized internationally. The trial can be held any time after that date.