Saddam Starting Hunger Strike

(Baghdad) Apparently, Saddam Hussein believes that he's not getting enough sympathy and media exposure.

From Reuters.com:

Saddam Hussein and the seven co-defendants in his trial are to start a hunger strike on Monday, the former Iraqi president's defense team said on Sunday, citing sources inside the detention center where they are being held.

"Saddam and his followers will start a hunger strike from tomorrow, protesting the illegitimate procedures and bad treatment by the court," Khamis al-Aubeidi, a leading member of Saddam's defense team, told Reuters.

Frankly, the idea of strapping the murdering thug to a gurney and shoving a feeding tube through his nose and down his esophagus doesn't elicit my sympathy. In fact, I'd recommend that the authorities be innovative in force-feeding Saddam and try a new technique. A gnarly tube through the brokeback might work.

Nevertheless, the hunger strike is nicely timed to coincide with continuation of the trial which was interrupted two weeks ago when the defense team walked out of the courtroom and protested the new judge. Since then, Saddam has whined about being abused by prison guards. It appears that Saddam and his co-defendents are trying to do everything possible to disrupt the trial "to fuel concerns about the legitimacy of the tribunal and its eventual verdict."

Companion post at The Jawa Report.