Post by Soulbrotha on Jun 16, 2004 10:49:31 GMT -5
Iraq Seeks Custody of Hussein; Bush Has Security Concerns
By ELISABETH BUMILLER
and EDWARD WONG
Published: June 16, 2004
ASHINGTON, June 15 - President Bush said Tuesday that the United States would hand over Saddam Hussein to the new Iraqi government only when it was clear that the Iraqis had the ability to securely keep him in custody.
His comments came after Iraq's new interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, speaking in Baghdad, called for the Americans to hand over all detainees, including Mr. Hussein, by June 30, when Iraq is to gain limited sovereignty from the United States.
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Custody of Mr. Hussein was one of several issues on which the Americans and the new Iraqi government remain divided as the transfer of authority draws nearer.
For example, the new government's president, Sheik Ghazi Ajil al-Yawar, demanded that the Americans cede Mr. Hussein's marble-tiled Republican Palace, a prominent symbol of power, which the American-led civilian administration had used as a headquarters and which the United States was considering as a likely annex to its vast new embassy.
At a sweltering news conference with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan in the Rose Garden of the White House, President Bush addressed the question of control over Mr. Hussein. "We want to make sure that he doesn't come back to power," Mr. Bush said. "And so, therefore, it's a legitimate question to ask of the interim government - how are you going to make sure that he stays in jail?"
Mr. Bush did not say when custody would be transferred.
"We're working to make sure there's appropriate security," Mr. Bush said.
The White House had intended the news conference to promote progress in Afghanistan, and Vice President thingy Cheney and other top administration officials attended. But it was dominated by questions about Iraq.
"I mean, one thing, obviously, is that we don't want, and I know the Iraqi interim government doesn't want, is there to be lax security and for Saddam Hussein to somehow not stand trial for the horrendous murders and torture that he inflicted upon the Iraqi people," Mr. Bush said.
Mr. Hussein, who was captured by United States forces in December 2003, is now being held as a prisoner of war at an undisclosed American detention facility in Iraq.
It is unclear who would guard him under the new government or where he might be held. A senior Bush administration official said late Tuesday that one option under serious discussion was for the American military to give legal jurisdiction to the new Iraqi government but to retain physical custody of Mr. Hussein until the Iraqis have a secure place to hold him.
A tribunal headed by Salem Chalabi - a nephew of Ahmad Chalabi, head of the Iraqi National Congress - has been established to bring Mr. Hussein and members of his government to trial. War crimes and genocide are among the charges that will be considered, Salem Chalabi has said.
The Geneva Conventions require a country to release prisoners of war at the end of a war or occupation, unless criminal charges are brought against the prisoners. The Bush administration has insisted repeatedly that the occupation is ending on June 30, when the American-led Coalition Provisional Authority is dissolved.
But Dan Senor, a spokesman for the authority in Iraq, said Tuesday that Mr. Hussein could remain a prisoner of war for some time. "We also do not have to hand him over until there's a cessation of active hostilities,'' he said. "Hostilities, unfortunately, continue.''
The American military has said it intends to continue to hold 4,000 to 5,000 detainees after June 30. A lawyer for the occupation authority said those released could be charged and tried by one of three Iraqi court systems.
At the news conference, Mr. Bush also said it would be up to the new government of Iraq to determine how to handle Moktada al-Sadr, a fiery Shiite cleric who has led an insurgency against the American-led occupation and who Mr. Bush has called a "thug." Mr. Sadr is forming a political party that will probably take part in Iraqi elections next year.
His actions are in direct defiance of L. Paul Bremer III, the top American civilian administrator in Iraq, who issued an order last week barring people with illegal militias - like that of Mr. Sadr - from taking part in elections in the near future.
"The interim Iraqi government will deal with al-Sadr in the way they see fit," Mr. Bush said. "They're sovereign."
www.nytimes.com/2004/06/16/politics/16prex.html?ex=1087963200&en=13b3d57e4110b56b&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
By ELISABETH BUMILLER
and EDWARD WONG
Published: June 16, 2004
ASHINGTON, June 15 - President Bush said Tuesday that the United States would hand over Saddam Hussein to the new Iraqi government only when it was clear that the Iraqis had the ability to securely keep him in custody.
His comments came after Iraq's new interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, speaking in Baghdad, called for the Americans to hand over all detainees, including Mr. Hussein, by June 30, when Iraq is to gain limited sovereignty from the United States.
Advertisement
Custody of Mr. Hussein was one of several issues on which the Americans and the new Iraqi government remain divided as the transfer of authority draws nearer.
For example, the new government's president, Sheik Ghazi Ajil al-Yawar, demanded that the Americans cede Mr. Hussein's marble-tiled Republican Palace, a prominent symbol of power, which the American-led civilian administration had used as a headquarters and which the United States was considering as a likely annex to its vast new embassy.
At a sweltering news conference with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan in the Rose Garden of the White House, President Bush addressed the question of control over Mr. Hussein. "We want to make sure that he doesn't come back to power," Mr. Bush said. "And so, therefore, it's a legitimate question to ask of the interim government - how are you going to make sure that he stays in jail?"
Mr. Bush did not say when custody would be transferred.
"We're working to make sure there's appropriate security," Mr. Bush said.
The White House had intended the news conference to promote progress in Afghanistan, and Vice President thingy Cheney and other top administration officials attended. But it was dominated by questions about Iraq.
"I mean, one thing, obviously, is that we don't want, and I know the Iraqi interim government doesn't want, is there to be lax security and for Saddam Hussein to somehow not stand trial for the horrendous murders and torture that he inflicted upon the Iraqi people," Mr. Bush said.
Mr. Hussein, who was captured by United States forces in December 2003, is now being held as a prisoner of war at an undisclosed American detention facility in Iraq.
It is unclear who would guard him under the new government or where he might be held. A senior Bush administration official said late Tuesday that one option under serious discussion was for the American military to give legal jurisdiction to the new Iraqi government but to retain physical custody of Mr. Hussein until the Iraqis have a secure place to hold him.
A tribunal headed by Salem Chalabi - a nephew of Ahmad Chalabi, head of the Iraqi National Congress - has been established to bring Mr. Hussein and members of his government to trial. War crimes and genocide are among the charges that will be considered, Salem Chalabi has said.
The Geneva Conventions require a country to release prisoners of war at the end of a war or occupation, unless criminal charges are brought against the prisoners. The Bush administration has insisted repeatedly that the occupation is ending on June 30, when the American-led Coalition Provisional Authority is dissolved.
But Dan Senor, a spokesman for the authority in Iraq, said Tuesday that Mr. Hussein could remain a prisoner of war for some time. "We also do not have to hand him over until there's a cessation of active hostilities,'' he said. "Hostilities, unfortunately, continue.''
The American military has said it intends to continue to hold 4,000 to 5,000 detainees after June 30. A lawyer for the occupation authority said those released could be charged and tried by one of three Iraqi court systems.
At the news conference, Mr. Bush also said it would be up to the new government of Iraq to determine how to handle Moktada al-Sadr, a fiery Shiite cleric who has led an insurgency against the American-led occupation and who Mr. Bush has called a "thug." Mr. Sadr is forming a political party that will probably take part in Iraqi elections next year.
His actions are in direct defiance of L. Paul Bremer III, the top American civilian administrator in Iraq, who issued an order last week barring people with illegal militias - like that of Mr. Sadr - from taking part in elections in the near future.
"The interim Iraqi government will deal with al-Sadr in the way they see fit," Mr. Bush said. "They're sovereign."
www.nytimes.com/2004/06/16/politics/16prex.html?ex=1087963200&en=13b3d57e4110b56b&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
