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Saddam Hussein Capture
Aired December 16, 2003 - 14:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Matthew Chance is standing by in London.
And, Matthew, what about that, an international trial for Saddam Hussein?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's certainly one of the options that is on the table for whoever makes this decision to decide upon, although it seems that it's not the favored option. Both the U.S. and British leaders have said they want a trial to be undertaken by Iraqis inside Iraq. A new tribunal is already being prepared to try the foreign member of the former Saddam Hussein regime, including Saddam himself, of course, a tribunal that would have Iraqi judges, which would be supplied, obviously, locally and work within the framework of local Iraq law. It would certainly be cheap. It would be very quick as well. But it may lack the kind of credibility that a more international panel of judges may be able to offer these proceedings.
And that's why there's another option on the table, although it's unclear how seriously this is being considered. We've seen it in The Hague with the war tribes tribunal, in which mill Slobodan Milosevic, the former Yugoslav president is being tried, neutral territory, of course, international panel of judges. The big problem with that option is that it's very expensive and time consuming. It could, of course, give the accusers -- it's done with former president Milosevic, and would do with Saddam Hussein -- a platform which from he can, you know, take his war against the coalition into the courtroom. And that's something that both U.S. and the U.K., as well as Iraqis, want to avoid very much.
So Kyra, perhaps the most likely scenario is the third option, some kind of compromise because the two possibilities.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk about the charges that he faces. Where would weapons of mass destruction stand? I'm assuming that the gassing against the Kurds would be No. 1 on the list.
CHANCE: This is one of the big questions. And it's indeed one of the reasons why the coalition may want to keep the international element of any trial of Saddam Hussein down to the minimum, because it would provide him with a platform, not just to rant against the coalition, but also to explore this very sensitive issue of weapons of mass destruction. Remember, in Britain, less so in the United States, but in Britain, this was one of the main reasons, the main reason, in fact, the British government said it was so important to go to war in Iraq. And so perhaps the coalition partners may not want to see this issue out in the public courts in this way. It may want to avoid more of an international-type tribunal.
PHILLIPS: All right, Matthew Chance, thank you so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 16, 2003 - 14:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Matthew Chance is standing by in London.
And, Matthew, what about that, an international trial for Saddam Hussein?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's certainly one of the options that is on the table for whoever makes this decision to decide upon, although it seems that it's not the favored option. Both the U.S. and British leaders have said they want a trial to be undertaken by Iraqis inside Iraq. A new tribunal is already being prepared to try the foreign member of the former Saddam Hussein regime, including Saddam himself, of course, a tribunal that would have Iraqi judges, which would be supplied, obviously, locally and work within the framework of local Iraq law. It would certainly be cheap. It would be very quick as well. But it may lack the kind of credibility that a more international panel of judges may be able to offer these proceedings.
And that's why there's another option on the table, although it's unclear how seriously this is being considered. We've seen it in The Hague with the war tribes tribunal, in which mill Slobodan Milosevic, the former Yugoslav president is being tried, neutral territory, of course, international panel of judges. The big problem with that option is that it's very expensive and time consuming. It could, of course, give the accusers -- it's done with former president Milosevic, and would do with Saddam Hussein -- a platform which from he can, you know, take his war against the coalition into the courtroom. And that's something that both U.S. and the U.K., as well as Iraqis, want to avoid very much.
So Kyra, perhaps the most likely scenario is the third option, some kind of compromise because the two possibilities.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk about the charges that he faces. Where would weapons of mass destruction stand? I'm assuming that the gassing against the Kurds would be No. 1 on the list.
CHANCE: This is one of the big questions. And it's indeed one of the reasons why the coalition may want to keep the international element of any trial of Saddam Hussein down to the minimum, because it would provide him with a platform, not just to rant against the coalition, but also to explore this very sensitive issue of weapons of mass destruction. Remember, in Britain, less so in the United States, but in Britain, this was one of the main reasons, the main reason, in fact, the British government said it was so important to go to war in Iraq. And so perhaps the coalition partners may not want to see this issue out in the public courts in this way. It may want to avoid more of an international-type tribunal.
PHILLIPS: All right, Matthew Chance, thank you so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
