Baghdad holdings its breath

With the anticipated conviction of Saddam Hussein expected later today, Baghdad is taking no chances. A curfew has been in place since 2100 last night, and runs through tomorrow - rendering all streets practically impassable to residents, including to our local staff.

The concern is that if a conviction (and subsequent penalty, most likely to be that of death by hanging) is passed, Saddam's own Sunni minority will rise up in anger. Alternatively, if a conviction is not passed, the Shi'a majority might view this as a failure in the fragile justice system.

The imminent conviction is riddled with potential problems and claimed irregularities. Some argue the timing was rigged to provide a boost for republicans before the mid-term elections, others fear that a conviction in this case, will hamper the process of justice in the ongoing Al Anfal campaign. Iraqi law states that if a death sentence is passed, it must be carried out within 30 days. Thus, if Saddam is convicted and sentenced in the Dujail case in which he allegedly ordered the killing of 148 Shi'a villagers following an attempt on his life in 1982, he will most likely not complete the Al Anfal trial that accuses him of systematically killing as many as 182,000 individuals between 1986 and 1989 in his anti-Kurdish campaign.

One thing I wonder about is what Kurdistan will do if they do not see their own slice of justice.

In the meantime, Bradley and Abraham's tanks have been rolled out at checkpoints and we'll be hunkered down, working hard. Please keep the Iraqis in your thoughts.