Judging Saddam

THE trial of Saddam Hussein is without precedent in the Arab world. Rulers there remain in power until their natural death or their murder by a successor. In Iraq in living memory, the king and his family and his prime minister were trampled until their corpses were unrecognizable. Two of the nationalists who then seized power were themselves violently overthrown. Fear that this would be his own fate drove Saddam to many of his crimes. Baghdad is without a settled government for the time being, and mayhem on the street is not yet checked. But however fraught the context, Iraqis—and people throughout the Middle East—are taking note on their TV screens of each and every stage in the establishment of the rule of law. In that sense, Saddam’s is indeed a show trial.

From the moment of his capture in December 2003, he was obviously going to provide a field day for the swarm of legalists and busybodies who have no responsibility but plenty of objections and fantasies about the nature of the world. Sure enough, the likes of Amnesty International, Ramsey Clark, and every other self-important leftist are agog to accuse the United States of imposing victor’s justice. But there was never any question of trying Saddam outside Iraq. Iraqis had the will and the capabilities to hold the trial, and they set up a tribunal for this purpose.

About the Author

David Pryce-Jones

David Pryce-Jones (1936–2025) was a British author and commentator and served as a senior editor of National Review.

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THE trial of Saddam Hussein is without precedent in the Arab world. Rulers there remain in power until their natural death or their murder by a successor. In Iraq in living memory, the king and his family and his prime minister were trampled until their corpses were unrecognizable. Two of the nationalists who then seized power were themselves violently overthrown. Fear that this would be his own fate drove Saddam to many of his crimes. Baghdad is without a settled government for the time being, and mayhem on the street is not yet checked. But however fraught the context, Iraqis—and people throughout the Middle East—are taking note on their TV screens of each and every stage in the establishment of the rule of law. In that sense, Saddam’s is indeed a show trial.

From the moment of his capture in December 2003, he was obviously going to provide a field day for the swarm of legalists and busybodies who have no responsibility but plenty of objections and fantasies about the nature of the world. Sure enough, the likes of Amnesty International, Ramsey Clark, and every other self-important leftist are agog to accuse the United States of imposing victor’s justice. But there was never any question of trying Saddam outside Iraq. Iraqis had the will and the capabilities to hold the trial, and they set up a tribunal for this purpose.