What do they think we are? A nation of laws?
...here it is:
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Saddam Hussein must either be released from custody by June 30 or charged if the US and the new Iraqi government are to conform to international law, the International Committee of the Red Cross said last night.
Nada Doumani, a spokeswoman for the ICRC, told the Guardian: "The United States defines Saddam Hussein as a prisoner of war. At the end of an occupation PoWs have to be released provided they have no penal charges against them."
Her comments came as the international body, the only independent group with access to detainees in US custody, becomes increasingly concerned over the legal limbo in which thousands of people are being held in the run-up to the transfer of power at the end of the month.
The occupation officially ends on June 30 and US forces will be in Iraq at the invitation of its sovereign government.
... troll repellent. Saddam's a bad guy, yadda yadda yadda, and if even a small portion of what we "know" about his regime is true, then locking him up until the end of time would make me and most people quite happy. But, "Saddam's a bad guy" isn't enough for any system of justice I'm happy with. And, we do have a wee bit of a problem considering that the people in this administration have gone out of their way to reject any concept of "International Law."
Vigilante Justice always has a certain appeal to our inner Righteous Man, but in the absence of a clear system of justice - Iraqi, US, or International - that's about all we're doing to Saddam.