Michael Scharf Quotations

Nuremberg begat the Yugoslavia tribunal which begat the Rwanda tribunal which begat the special court for Sierra Leone and East Timor and now the permanent International Criminal Court.

Now they are seeking to exploit the tragic -- but not unforeseeable -- murders of their colleagues in an attempt to derail the proceedings.

But that's going to be a little difficult because Saddam Hussein has a reputation for not putting anything in writing because he wanted to avoid this very thing.

He is going to use this trial as his bully pulpit in an effort to put that invasion on trial, ... But it's not really in his client's interest to try to hijack the trial and make it all about U.S. violations of international law.

He needs to cite the precedents of the Yugoslavia tribunal, the Rwanda tribunal, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and domestic courts, which indicate that his response to the situation is perfectly consistent with international due process and fair trial standards.

The defense attorneys in part brought this tragic situation upon themselves when they elected to have their faces and identities broadcast during the first day of the trial,

What they really want to do is prove that he gave the order,

Saddam will have rights that none of his victims had because of the Nuremberg precedent.

This trial has not gone as anybody has hoped.

This is one of the most important trials of our lifetimes, ... the number of victims ... the status of the defendant ... and the fact that the whole world went to war against this man in 1991.

And it is crucial that he be convicted of genocide,