The deposed dictator, who has been held in solitary confinement at an American-controlled prison in Iraq since his capture in December 2003, is in good shape "mentally and physically" and is relishing the opportunity to clear his name. "He still insists that he is the legitimate ruler of Iraq and that a foreign army came and deposed him," said Hoshiyar Zebari, Iraq's foreign minister. "He does not seem to realise that he lost the war and that since then we have had new elections and new leaders. Saddam's frame of mind is that he will get off."
According to Mr Zebari, Saddam intends to conduct his defence on the basis that he is still the legitimate ruler of Iraq, based on the referendum he held shortly before the war in which he claimed to have won 100 per cent of the vote. "He claims everyone voted for him, but I am an Iraqi, and he did not get my vote," said Mr Zebari.
But while Saddam is confident about his prospects, other leading members of his regime are in low spirits. "People like Tariq Aziz and Chemical Ali [Ali Hassan al -Majid] are broken men. They know there is no escape from justice."
| 'cause there's a rope at the end for them. |
Mr Zebari insisted that the trial would start on time. "This trial is long, long overdue," he said. "Saddam and his accomplices should have been dealt with long ago.
"So long as they are still in jail, their old Ba'athist colleagues think there is still a chance that they might one day come back. We need to show that the age of Saddam is finally at an end."