If he is captured alive but his forces continue to fight? Will he be a prisoner of war?
What happens to him if Iraq surrenders (his decision)? Does he become a war criminal to be put on trial for his human rights abuses and murders and tortures or other crimes? Who tries him, convicts him, punishes/executes him?
Will the UN get involved with it or will it be US/British military courts?
I’ve been trying to follow all the Iraqi war boards, but I’m not sure I’ve seen this addressed, at least in an OP. Searching didn’t bring it up for me either
Damnit, I’m bumping up my own thread 'cause I don’t know the answer and I really want to know.
My limited knowledge of history is this (from a US of A perspective, of course):
Gulf War I - we pull out - Saddam stays
Vietnam - no victory - Ho Chi Minh not caught
Korea - North/South split
WWII - Hitler, Mussolini dead anyway before capture, what became of the Japanese emperor?
So, what’s likely to happen to Saddam if captured or he surrenders?
He’ll never surrender. Possibly be caught but seriously doubt that. He’d die before being handed over to the USA. I heard some where that his son, has a standing order, if the USA comes barging in on his bunker, he’s ordered to shoot papa…
No cite for the latter, but I’d say he would go into exile before anything else.
In the unlikely event Sadam is caught alive he will be put on trial – It is unclear at this point by who.
There have been articles written about it being a Military tribunal (basically the U.S. – & maybe British – Armed Services).
There has been talk of an international tirbunal of some kind most logically by the U.N. You know the U.N. 's role in post-War Iraq is very controversal. Also it is likely there would be no death penalty on this route.
My WAG is that for political reasons, for Saddam, his kids and big Baath Fish like Chemical Ali we will go thru some form of the U.N. tribunal system to try him.
For lower case war criminals (i.e. a Lt. Col who shot prisoners or the Major who follows orders to fire the mustard gas) my WAG is we would use Military tribunals.
There is no GQ answer because the U.S. hasn’t announced how this will go.
I was so wrapped up in MY answer, that I did not answer the OP fully
*Will he be a prisoner of war? *
Sadam has violated the Geneva Conventions. I would expect he would be found to be a illegal in some way - the U.S. reserved the right to unilaterally determine this in Afghanistan but this is controversial - and he would be put on trial pretty much right away.
What happens to him if Iraq surrenders (his decision)? Does he become a war criminal to be put on trial for his human rights abuses and murders and tortures or other crimes?
No matter what happens - unless he escapes or dies - he and his henchmen are going on trial – my answer above attempts to answer the trial stuff
<HIJACK>
Hirohito was allowed to keep his title under the terms of surrender, but under the new US-drafted Japanese constitution the emporer’s position became largely a symbolic one, leaving legislative authority in the hands of Parliament. Hirohito died around 1989 - the current emporer, Akihito, is his son.
</HIJACK>
I imagine we would hand him over to the new pro-US Iraqi government, who can try him for several thousand different murder charges, based on his actions as dictator for the last twenty years. I’m sure there will be enough archival material surviving to pin any number of murder raps on him that we want. He’s convicted on 27,654 or so counts of murder and earns himself a lethal injection.
Saddam Hussain will move to a nice house in Jamaica. He will discover marijuana, grow his hair long and chill out. He will write a book and appear on Oprah. Then in his last act of brutality, he shoots Oprah and Dr. Phil. America cheers and loves him.
His sons will be in the WWF as bad guys making millions of dollars, as the “Torture Brothers”. Qusay and Lisa Marie Presley will get married, but the marriage will only last 6 days, and Qusay will become a Scientologist. Although Lisa and Qusay remain friends, Michael Jackson turns up dead, tortured and buried under a kindergarten. America again cheers. Qusay loved “Raising Arizona” and “Con Air” so Nick Cage lives.
Uday buys the New York Yankees from Stienbrenner, and the Yankees win the World Series, winning 90 percent of their games. Those on injured reserve usually suffered from swollen feet and cattle prod burns. Uday and Joe Torre become great friends and open a restaurant together.
Chemical Ali will become a gay porn star in Mexico under the name “Unltimate Ali.” Then he will go behind the camera with the Coen brothers to direct Tonya Harding and a camel in a beastiality thriller.
Tariq Aziz has a sex change and becomes a cigar smoking nun.
Lastly, Osama Bin Laden works two jobs in NYC of all places. One as a 7-11 employee, and the other as a cab driver. His alias is Mohammad Qzeeerkkkritkes. Ironically he is shot and killed by a black kid in the 7-11 when he refuses to sell him a bottle of Colt 45.
Well, I would imagine the UN would want to try him in the Hague wheras the US would want to try him on home soil as (IIRC), the Hague does not give out death sentences. This would further split world opinion and give rise to more anti-americanism and there might be a very real chance that Saddam might die a martyr
If he is not killed, he will live under some sort of asylum-come-house-arrest albeit in greatly lavish style probably somewhere like Syria, or at a pinch Yemen.
Bahrain offered him asylum when he was given the 48 hour ultimatum. I could imagine that still being an acceptable place to have him under house arrest.
We also have to wonder what’s going to be done with people like Tarik Aziz, and Mohammad Said al-Sahhaf. Somebody high-ranking and/or publically visible will probably survive. In the latter case, maybe an academy award is appropriate, given the public pronouncements he’s been making with his bare face hanging out, but he will probably net himself a war crimes trial.
Just for fun, imagine that you’re a private and you go around behind a building to piss, and there he is, with four or five of his cronies and they’re all unarmed and have their hands up.
Peace,
mangeorge
