Charging a Tyrant : The Arraignment of Saddam Hussein

When the tyrannical Saddam Hussein was captured in 2003, the war in Iraq was in a precarious position. A provisional government had been assembled, but the Iraqi government was not yet recognized as sovereign. They were now expected to put their most infamous citizen on trial for war crimes.

Called into duty at this moment was Rear Admiral Greg Slavonic, who was tasked with facilitating U.S. media presence at the arraignment which would establish the judicial framework for future tribunals. Admiral Slavonic was party to the historic US-Iraqi Transfer of Sovereignty and then as the senior military officer in the Iraqi courtroom where he was one of fifteen individuals to witness the historic event. As the senior military officer in the room with fifteen other observers, he managed a challenging pool of media jockeying for access for this once in a career story and plus served as advisor to the Iraqi judge on various media issues.

Slavonic’s first-hand narrative of a unique moment in military history features never-before-seen transcripts of Saddam Hussein’s trial. For the first time, readers can read how Saddam responded to his charges, along with eleven of Hussein’s closest advisors and cabinet members who were arraigned that day, and several charged with war “crimes against humanity”. This would be the last time all twelve men would be together again who were responsible for the deaths of over several million fellow Iraqi citizens.

This book expands our examination of difficult wars and chronicles the legal reckoning and downfall of a tyrant.