John Burns of the New York Times should really win an award for his consistent services to the cause of US Empire and its wars. I nominate him to write propaganda flyers for the occupation authority in Iraq. George Bush Sr. had in fact invited him to Texas A & M University to speak glowingly of the Iraq war right after it started. He did not disappoint. Read this article: everybody (in Middle East and elsewhere) who watched the excerpts of Saddam's appearance before the Iraqi court thought that the judge (who had been appointed by Saddam) was utterly incompetent and ill-prepared, and that he allowed Saddam to dominate the court room. Burns, the vigilant propagandist that he is, provides a different (completely inaccurate) account. It was a different court that I must have been watching.