The trial of Saddam Hussein marks the first time since the UN was created that a head of state has been put on trial by an invading, occupying power. This book seeks to draw public attention to the threat this precedent poses to developing nations worldwide, and to its distortive influence on the further evolution of international law.

Al-Ani documents the trail of illegalities marking the destruction of Iraq at the hands of the US and UK, from the genocidal sanctions of the 1990s, the US State Department pre-invasion planning that commenced in 2001, and the 2003 invasion, to the setting up and proceedings of the tribunal that swiftly dispatched Saddam Hussein.

While the Tribunal was intended to promote the image of a triumphant Iraqi democracy, the US was actually in control of all stages of the trial. It drafted the Tribunal’s Statute; determined the trial venue and what charges would be brought; researched, compiled, stored, and prevented access to evidence and documentation; selected and trained the judges, and micro-managed the proceedings.

The trial itself was so farcical as to provoke international condemnation. International human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as UN bodies such as the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, have stated that the Iraqi Special Tribunal and its legal process does not meet international standards for a fair trial.

The behavior of the United States and its allies sets an ugly precedent for its intervention in other targeted states. This detailed examination reveals how the ‘New World’ is in fact being ‘ordered’. It presents a terrifying prospect of ruthless dictatorship, deprivation of independence, and removal of the human right to justice. It lays bare the level of deception, hypocrisy, and flagrant flouting of even its own laws to which the U.S. was willing to resort in order to achieve its objective: the subjugation of a sovereign nation.