The case against amnesty for Hussein
By Paul Williams. Paul R. Williams, Chicago Tribune, 2/14/2003

In an effort to avert a war, Iraq's neighbors have opened up the possibility of amnesty and comfortable exile for Saddam Hussein and his family. The U.S. government appears on the verge of considering this option in an effort to demonstrate its willingness to consider alternatives to the use of force.

While Iraq's neighbors and our European allies are likely to be genuinely enthusiastic about the possibility of amnesty and exile for Hussein, the United States must not be seduced by the possibility of an apparently expedient solution to the difficult problem of meaningful regime change in Iraq. The open consideration of an offer of amnesty is fraught with serious consequences for American foreign policy.

Despite the overt willingness of our Arab and European allies to grant the Iraqi dictator amnesty, it is not theirs to grant. The victims of Hussein's crimes, the Kurds of northern Iraq and the Shiites of southern Iraq, hold the moral and legal authority to decide the fate of Hussein.

In fact, many of the crimes committed by Hussein, such as the attempted genocide against the northern Kurds, rise to the level of "crimes against humanity." It is the global community that also must consent to any amnesty, in the form of a UN resolution.

For the U.S. to seriously entertain amnesty and exile, let alone indicate its willingness to support such an act, would irrevocably undermine the moral authority of the United States--both in terms of the Bush administration's ongoing efforts to build a coalition to bring meaningful change to Iraq and in our war against terrorism.

For instance, how can the U.S. justify the use of force to effect a regime change based on the logic that Hussein will eventually use weapons of mass destruction against America and its allies because he has used them against his own people--if America then considers granting him amnesty for those crimes and allows him to retire in luxury? Moreover, what impact will such a signal have on the Kurdish and Shiite forces we are trying to organize into an effective resistance?

And how can the U.S. maintain international support to "hunt down and bring to justice" Osama bin Laden while we also appear willing to consider amnesty and retirement for Hussein? Such an approach would play into the hands of those who mischievously argue that the U.S. applies double standards in its efforts to root out evil.

Even if America was seduced by its Arab and European allies to arrange for amnesty for Hussein, it would not achieve the broader American objective of a stable and democratic Iraq. It is clear that any genuinely democratic Iraq would immediately call for the extradition and prosecution of Hussein. For instance, if Russia were to grant asylum to Hussein, there would be an immediate destabilizing political standoff between Russia and the new Iraq, with the new Iraqi government potentially threatening to nullify the numerous lucrative oil concessions held by Russia. To side with Iraq would undermine our relationship with Russia, while to side with Russia would put the U.S. in the position of protecting Hussein.

Amnesty and exile of Hussein also would truncate the efforts necessary to remove the 10,000 or so Iraqis who perpetuate his regime of terror. Without the creation of a system of domestic prosecutions and truth commissions, coupled with vetting of criminals from the military, police and bureaucracy, it will not be possible to create a democratic and stable Iraq. No such mechanisms are likely to be created in the event of an amnesty for the most culpable individual.

The exile of Hussein will not avert the three-way civil war brewing in Iraq among the Kurds, Shiites and the ruling Sunnis. The only way to ensure the territorial integrity of Iraq post-Saddam is deployment of American ground forces and the international management of a democratic transformation. This will only occur when the U.S. moves forward with its plan to use force and when the people of Iraq join in the effort with an uprising against Hussein's regime.

Since the war in Kosovo and the attack of Sept. 11, the mantra of the U.S. has been to deter future war crimes and acts of terrorism by bringing to justice the perpetrators, either by defeating them on the battlefield or prosecuting them in the courtroom. To entertain an amnesty for Hussein returns the U.S. to the path of accommodation and appeasement which helped to create the environment that enabled Slobodan Milosevic, provided succor to the Taliban and afforded opportunity to Al Qaeda.

The only way to deter future crimes and attacks against the U.S. and its allies is for would-be perpetrators to visualize Milosevic in The Hague and bin Laden in some dark cave, not to visualize Hussein enjoying caviar in a former Russian villa along the Black Sea.