Saddam Hussein's Baghdad trial sounds better than reality TV.  Today Mr. Hussein and his seven fellow defendants ranted, raved, and generally disrupted trial proceedings, several times disrespecting Judge Rizgar Muhammad Amin, to whom Mr. Hussein at one point angrily shouted, "Don't interrupt me!"  At another point, the entire defense team--not the defendants--walked out of the courtroom, protesting Judge Amin's refusal to allow them to "verbally challenge the legitimacy of the court."  Mr. Hussein and the other defendants expressed their disapproval by shouting at the judge.

Judge Amin eventually caved to the demands of the defense, giving them a chance to argue against the trial's legitimacy.  Passivity, in fact, seemed to be a characteristic of the court in today's proceedings, where "throughout the day," reports the New York Times, "the unarmed court officers seemed reluctant to discipline the defendants as they stood up, shouted, and interrupted the judge, the witnesses, and their own lawyers."  Defendant Barzan al Tikriti, Saddam's half-brother, did his share of shouting, and at one point began spitting and yelling at a man in the gallery, whom he accused of threatening him.  Saddam and al Tikriti also interrupted Ahmad Hassan Muhammad, who gave riveting testimony of the torture he witnessed when he, along with many of his brothers who he never again saw alive, was arrested during the Dujail massacre of 1982.  At several points during Mr. Muhammad's testimony, Hussein laughed.

Hussein and his fellow defendants seem to be forgetting they are war captives.  Hussein is very lucky to be getting a trial at all, and frankly it's more than he deserves.  He has no right to be shouting down his judge, for whatever reason, though it appears that these trial disruptions are simply an addition to the delay tactics that the defense has been employing.  The sick thing about these sorts of trials is that the defendants have to cooperate to a certain extent in order to get sentenced--and Mr. Hussein clearly just wants to raise a ruckus.  His crimes have been obvious enough for the U.S. to declare war against him twice.  Why does this tyrant need a trial?

Defendant Al Tikriti today, seemed to agree:  "Why don't you just execute us?"  If we must have a trial, someone shut these guys up so it can proceed.