Saddam's "Hunger Strike"

This is priceless . . .

Saddam ends hunger strike after missing lunch
Ex-Iraqi leader refuses one meal to protest his lawyer's slaying by gunmen
Reuters


Updated: 6:23 a.m. ET June 23, 2006
BAGHDAD - Saddam Hussein ended a brief hunger strike after missing just one meal in his U.S.-run prison, a U.S. military spokesman said on Friday.

The former Iraqi leader had refused lunch on Thursday in protest at the killing of one of his lawyers by gunmen, but the spokesman said he ate his evening meal.

Former Saddam aides being held in the same prison had refused to eat three meals since Wednesday evening but ended their fast with the ex-president.

“They all took their dinner meal,” the spokesman told Reuters.

Saddam is on trial for crimes against humanity for his role in the 1982 killing of 148 Shiites in Dujail. His lead counsel, Khalil al-Dulaimi, has blamed pro-government Shiite militias for the murder of his deputy Khamis al-Obaidi on Wednesday.

It was certainly not good news that al-Obaidi was killed, although it is unclear whether he was murdered by Shi'a militias seeking revenge or Sunni terrorists attempting to force a mistrial. A fair, non-political trial that holds Saddam and his thugs accountable for their crimes against the Iraqi people is a vital step in re-estabilishing confidence in Iraq's institutions after more than three decades of Ba'athist depravity.

But it is amazing (and amusing) to think that for all his bluster, Saddam could not last longer without a meal than thousands of high school wrestlers throughout America!