[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23145]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          SADDAM HUSSEIN TRIAL

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today begins what is no less than the trial 
of the century, the trial of Saddam Hussein.
  For the first time in recent history, a former leader will stand 
before his own people to be judged and tried for his crimes against 
humanity. For the first time, the Iraqi people will hear and watch the 
``Butcher of Baghdad'' answer for 23 years of terror.
  Saddam's crimes are surpassed only by the Rwandan genocide, Pol Pot's 
killing fields, and the tyrannies of Hitler, Mao, Stalin, and Kim Jong 
Il.
  Egyptians, Kuwaitis, and Iranians were put to death simply because he 
decreed so. Saddam killed Kurds because of their ethnicity. And he 
killed Shiites because of their religion, Sunnis for their political 
views. Even babies and toddlers fell victim to the firing squad.
  As Prime Minister al-Jafari said yesterday, there will be no tears 
for Saddam Hussein. But most surely, there will be tears for the 
hundreds of thousands of lives he crushed and destroyed with utter 
ruthlessness.
  The trial of Saddam will reveal to the Iraqis and to the world the 
full extent of his brutality. And as the crimes are tallied and 
recorded, he will face the full judgment of the people and the 
uncompromising judgment of history.
  I am confident justice will be served and that Saddam and his 
henchmen will be treated fairly and appropriately. And I am hopeful the 
process will be an opportunity for the Iraqi people to experience some 
measure of catharsis and closure on a dark and terrible chapter in 
their history.
  I commend them for their courage to restrain the desire for vengeance 
and to commit to the rule of law. It cannot be easy. Saddam's abuse ran 
deep and ran wide. But by granting him a fair trial--an opportunity to 
answer the charges--the Iraqi people are showing that Saddam's 
brutality was born of his nature and not theirs.
  Cicero once said:

       Let us remember that justice must be observed even to the 
     lowest.

  Today, let it be said that justice will be observed even by the once 
mighty.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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