Abstract
Saddam Hussein will be brought to justice this week for the brutal murders of 143 Shi’ite men in the town of Dujail, carried out in retribution for a failed attempt on his life in 1982. Although Saddam faces a litany of other charges for more widespread and severe crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide, the Iraqi Special Tribunal decided to move forward with the Dujail atrocity first, indicating that it is the best documented of his many crimes. But as the first of what will be several trials, Saddam’s defense team will try out some initial defenses that they believe could bring the trial to a standstill.