Earlier today the war crimes trial of Saddam Hussein resumed. The former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark briefly addressed the court on behalf of Hussein’s defense team. He said “Reconciliation is essential. This trial can divide or heal. Unless it is seen as absolutely fair, and fair in fact, it will divide rather than reconcile Iraq.” Saddam Hussein’s entire defense team walked out of the court after the chief trial judge refused to allow Clark to challenge the tribunal’s legitimacy. At one point during the session Hussein and his half brother Barazan Ibrahim chanted “Long live Iraq, long live the Arab state.” Then Ibrahim stood up and shouted: “Why don’t you just execute us and get rid of all of this!”