Iraq braces for verdict in Hussein trial
Leave for officers canceled; curfew may be imposed

By Steven R. Hurst, Associated Press | November 4, 2006

BAGHDAD -- Iraq canceled leave yesterday for all military officers two days before an expected verdict -- and possible death sentence -- in the trial of Saddam Hussein. For the second time this week, a top Bush administration official met with the Iraqi prime minister.

Many of Hussein's fellow Sunni Arabs and some Shi'ites and Kurds are predicting a firestorm of violence if the court sentences the former president to death, as is widely expected. Bloodshed is already high, with police finding the bodies of 87 torture victims throughout the capital between 6 a.m. Thursday and 6 p.m. yesterday.

But most Shi'ites, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, probably will be enraged if he escapes the gallows. Maliki declared last month that he expected "this criminal tyrant will be executed," saying that would probably break the will of Hussein's followers in the insurgency.

In a videotape yesterday, Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi was heard issuing the order canceling all military leaves and ordering vacationing soldiers back to duty. The order took effect at noon yesterday and was announced at a meeting among Maliki and senior military and security officials.

While there was no direct reference linking the cancellation of leaves with the Hussein trial verdict, there was discussion of imposing a curfew for tomorrow.

"All vacations will be canceled and all those who are on vacation must return," Obeidi said.

At one point during the meeting, Maliki could be heard upbraiding his top military brass for failing to stop the capital's unbridled violence.

But attacks are not limited to Baghdad. South of the capital, police in Kut found 13 more bodies yesterday, seven pulled from the Tigris River. Elsewhere in Iraq at least nine others died violent deaths.

The US military announced seven more deaths -- four Marines and three soldiers killed Thursday -- raising the death toll for November to 11. At least 105 US forces died in October, the fourth-highest monthly toll of the war.

United Nations officials said yesterday that nearly 100,000 Iraqis are fleeing each month to Syria and Jordan, forcing the UN to set aside its goal of helping refugees return home after the US-led invasion. Instead, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has drawn up plans to meet the humanitarian needs of Iraqis in other countries, spokesman Ron Redmond said.

Maliki's demand for a speedier transfer of power to his military was believed to have been among issues he discussed with US National Intelligence Director John Negroponte in the heavily fortified green zone.

Negroponte arrived four days after National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley paid an unannounced visit to the Iraqi capital and was heard to say that he had come "to reinforce some of the things you have heard from our president."

The two top US officials came to the Iraqi capital in close succession after a video conference Oct. 28 during which President Bush and Maliki agreed to set up a five-member committee to coordinate military and political matters.

Hassan al-Suneid, a top Maliki aide and lawmaker from his Dawa Party, said at the time that the Iraqi leader was using the GOP's vulnerability in the coming midterm congressional elections to leverage concessions from the White House -- particularly the speedy withdrawal of American forces from Iraqi cities to US bases in the country.

Maliki had complained about recent US-Iraqi operations, under the direction of US officers, saying they were causing undue problems for the Iraqi people and undermining his authority.

On Tuesday, Maliki ordered the end of an American blockade of Sadr City, the capital's Shi'ite slum, and the central Karradah district. The Americans imposed the blockades the week before in their search for a kidnapped US soldier.

Maliki and a major political backer, radical anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia runs Sadr City, charged the United States with collectively punishing the people of the two districts.

In the meantime, the US military has announced that Maliki planned to raise his military force structure by an estimated 18,000 men to a total of about 144,000. Maliki has said he believes the quicker his forces control the country, the faster violence will diminish.

General George W. Casey, the top US commander in Iraq, said last month that he believed that Iraqi forces would be ready to take control of the entire country in 12 to 18 months, with "some level" of American support.

The US Embassy in Baghdad would provide no details of the Negroponte visit and said it was not announced in advance as a matter of security.

The Iraqi government said the intelligence boss had reassured Maliki of Bush's continued backing.

Ellie