ad info




CNN.com
 MAIN PAGE
 WORLD
   africa
   americas
   asianow
   europe
   middle east
 U.S.
 LOCAL
 POLITICS
 WEATHER
 BUSINESS
 SPORTS
 TECHNOLOGY
 NATURE
 ENTERTAINMENT
 BOOKS
 TRAVEL
 FOOD
 HEALTH
 STYLE
 IN-DEPTH

 custom news
 Headline News brief
 daily almanac
 CNN networks
 CNN programs
 on-air transcripts
 news quiz

  CNN WEB SITES:
CNN Websites
 TIME INC. SITES:
 MORE SERVICES:
 video on demand
 video archive
 audio on demand
 news email services
 free email accounts
 desktop headlines
 pointcast

 DISCUSSION:
 message boards
 chat
 feedback

 SITE GUIDES:
 help
 contents
 search

 FASTER ACCESS:
 europe
 japan

 WEB SERVICES:

 

World - Middle East

U.S. pushing war crimes charges against Iraq's Saddam Hussein

graphic
 ALSO:
U.S. fighters launch strike outside Iraqi no-fly zone

 

From State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel

August 18, 1999
Web posted at: 9:22 p.m. EDT (0122 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States is pushing the U.N. Security Council to facilitate a war crimes indictment against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as part of a more accelerated effort to topple his regime, CNN has learned.

A senior Clinton administration official likened the situation to the recent indictment of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on war crimes charges by an international tribunal investigating alleged atrocities in the Balkans.

"Once he's indicted by a credible court, it's more difficult to conduct business, because then you're dealing with thugs," the official said.

However, U.S. officials say that two of the five permanent members of the Security Council -- Russia and China -- are so far opposed to the indictment, which would come from an ad hoc tribunal set up by the council.

The United States has been engaged in what one official describes as a "massive collection of evidence against Saddam Hussein" and believes an international court would be able to indict the Iraqi leader based on the doctrine of "universal jurisdiction."

 Kurds
The U.S. claims Saddam Hussein ordered the use of chemical weapons against Kurds in 1988  

That same justification was used by Spanish courts in trying to get the British government to extradite former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet to face war crimes charges brought by a Spanish magistrate. A final decision on Pinochet's fate is pending.

In a related matter, CNN has also learned that the United States has raised questions with the Austrian government over the recent presence in Vienna of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, a key ally of Hussein and vice chairman of Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council.

Al-Douri was allowed into Austria earlier this month for medical treatment. The United States wanted the Austrian government to arrest him and hold him until he could be charged with war crimes.

"It's more an issue of asking Austria, 'How did he get there? How do they justify medical treatment? Why is Austria coddling this guy?" said a U.S. official.

On Wednesday, al-Douri left Vienna on a flight to Amman, Jordan, the Associated Press reported.



RELATED STORIES:
Mission accomplished, U.N. disarmament team leaves Iraq
July 28, 1999
Sanctions send Iraq on downward spiral
July 12, 1999
Divided Security Council mulls rival proposals on Iraq
June 22, 1999
U.S. supports plan to suspend sanctions if Iraq disarms
June 16, 1999

RELATED SITES:
The United Nations
  • Cour internationale de Justice - International Court of Justice
United Nations Agreements on Human Rights
The Iraq Foundation
Permanenet Mission of Iraq to the United Nations
Iraqi National Congress
Center For Comparative Genocide Studies
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

 LATEST HEADLINES:
SEARCH CNN.com
Enter keyword(s)   go    help

Back to the top   © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.