Saddam Hussein Pleads Innocent At War Crimes Trial
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has pleaded innocent during the first day of his war crimes trial in Baghdad. He refused to identify himself and questioned the validity of the proceedings. He told the judges: "I preserve my constitutional rights as the president of Iraq. I do not recognize the body that has authorized you and I don"t recognize this aggression. What is based on injustice is unjust ... I do not respond to this so-called court, with all due respect." The proceedings have been criticized by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for failing to meet international standards. Hussein is facing charges that he rounded up and executed 143 men in the Shiite village of Dujail in 1982. Almost of all the charges brought against Hussein cover a period when he was a favored client of the United States. The current trial concerns the Dujail massacre of July 1982, where Saddam is accused of ordering killings of nearly 150 Shiite villagers following an attempt on his life. Less than a year and a half later, the former Iraqi dictator met Reagan-envoy Donald Rumsfeld in Baghdad.