. . . of trees.
Deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein accepted he ordered the destruction of orchards as a reprisal for an assassination bid in a Shiite town, his first such admission in the turbulent trial.
More from the same report:
Prosecutors led by Jaafar al-Mussawi the day earlier submitted to the court what they said was a signed execution order showing Saddam's guilt in the killing of 148 Shiite inhabitants of Dujail as a reprisal.
In the last few minutes of the day's proceedings in the trial, which has now been adjourned till March 12, Saddam said he ordered the destruction of orchards.
"I signed the order" for destroying the orchards. "I am Saddam Hussein. At the time I was in charge. It is not my habit to pass the buck on to others."
An admission of giving the order to slaughter trees was not quite what we were looking for, but I guess not every trial day can bring a "home run."
Getting serious for a moment, even Hussein's admission that he gave the order to destroy orchards does help the prosecution. It helps demonstrate that Saddam Hussein had a motive and opportunity to order other reprisals (like, say, the killing of 148 Shiite men and women).
If any written order to destroy the orchards is admitted to be authentic, it will be easier to prove that the signed order to kill the Shiites is also authentic.
The tree-slaughter admission also helps to show Saddam's intimate involvement in every aspect of the reprisals. As he said, "I am Saddam Hussein. At the time I was in charge. It is not my habit to pass the buck on to others."
Thank you. I'm sure that will be pointed out in closing argument.
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