EAST AND WESTExposing a monster [Archives:2004/706/Opinion]

By Jamil Abdul Karim
[email protected]
So, we'll soon see the mother of all trials hit the fan. Forget OJ Simpson or Michael Jackson or second-rate dictator Slobodan Milosevic. The trial of Saddam Hussein promises to be the courtroom event of our time.
CNN. Al Jazeera. BBC. Let's hope everyone is there. And why not? Mussolini was lynched. Hitler shot his own brains out. Mao and Pol Pot and Stalin all died old, without tribunal. In terms of a decent, despot trial, we really got ripped off in the 20th century.
But now, can you see Saddam consulting his lawyers on what to wear that big, first day? It will all be so very surreal.
I've recently been asking Yemenis what they think about the Butcher of Baghdad, recently demoted from mythic evil to shabby figure in need of a major shave, a haircut and a place for his suitcase of American cash.

The hero?
One man's comment stands out. “Like at the end of any good story, the hero should die.”
Interesting. Indeed, Saddam likely will seize the global spotlight to go down as the great Arab Superman who could have saved them from the Bushies and Jews. Some Arabs might buy this, while others – the odd cab driver here in Yemen for example – still don't believe it's actually Saddam in custody.
Granted, even otherwise reasonable people can sometimes believe the wildest things. After this one man's view about Saddam's fate, this educated professional suggested – to my dismay – that U.S. Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice is the world's 7th richest woman, thanks to income from the many bomb factories she owns.
Come on.
Then he added, with extra zest, “And she's Jewish.”
Oh dear. One wonders if he's noticed Rice's skin-colour lately.
“Well,” he relinquished, “she acts like she's Jewish.”
Oh, I see, I thought to myself, as if one can “act” in such a way. But then again, it is true that people groups do have certain characteristics.

Cultural ethos
For example the ethos in this part of the world is one of keeping honour and avoiding shame. Period. And it seems to me that that's what Saddam's trial will be about. Such tradition are the axis on which certain cultures spin, the fig leaves that certain people-groups choose for cover.
This is why, despite no evidence, some Yemenis believe Saddam attacked Kuwait in 1990 because the Americans forced him to. Or that Jews brought down the Twin Towers, and, in fact, 4,000 Jews didn't go to work there on Sept. 11, 2001 because they knew what would hit.
Such dizzy theories are really just one result of the terrible lack of trust that's rooted in some cultures. This, naturally, leads to fear. And a stinging poverty of dignity. As one who has lived in both East and West, I can't say enough how important it is for the West in particular to grasp this. In today's war of ideas, and in international relations in general, humiliation is the most underrated force.
Yes, Saddam's trial may be a circus. It will be hard for some not to pull out the popcorn in a front row seat. But international prosecutors simply can't afford to debase Saddam to the extent that will disgrace Arabs who already feel like their face is in the mud.

Lasting dignity
Of course, some Iraqis themselves will want justice at the gallows, especially since Saddam brutally killed and repressed so many of his own people. But swinging him from a rope won't bring anyone lasting dignity either. Revenge is a need of people who feel powerless, a raw emotion that tends to go when their sense of impotence goes.
No, the real needs of Iraqis are much deeper.
Besides, if not collaborators, some western governments were at least benefactors of the ruin that Saddam wrought during parts of his 30-year-reign. If it's half-fair, Saddam's trial will also put these sins on the table.
Wherever things go, let's hope that any Saddam-like spirit of hatred isn't left to linger anywhere. Hate won't help Iraqis rebuild on new ground. It will only entrench the dark hero status that some folks already give Saddam.
In the end, dictators are terribly weak and cowardice monsters. To be properly exposed, they need to be tried in a court that rises above such things itself. Let's hope the international community and Iraqis both recognize this.

Jamil Abdul Karim is an editor at the Yemen Times.
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