European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 21, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday March 21, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 3 in the Gullet Region judge Saddam experts say by Amy Geiszler Jones and Chuck Vinch staff writers if Saddam Hussein were to stand trial for War crimes the action should come from the people of the Region International Law experts say. Intervention by Western Powers particularly those that ousted the iraqi dictator from Kuwait could Lead to accusations that the allies were seeking a a a Victory a Justice and might aggravate relations Between the Middle East and the Western world the experts said. A a unilateral move by the West would be seen in some Muslim countries As rubbing Saddam a nose in it and we already pretty much accomplished that during the War a said Don Wallace a Law professor and chairman of the Georgetown University International Law Institute in Washington. A some . Officials have already called for War crimes trials because of the. Massive damage done to the environment by Iraq whose forces dumped millions of barrels of Oil into the persian Gulf and torched virtually All of Kuwait soil Wells. In a conversation this week with re orters in Dhahran saudi Arabia sen. Oseph i. Lieberman d-conn., went so far As to say that Saddam should be put 5 to death for his actions. But Legal officials caution against such rhetoric at this Point when postwar damage is still being assessed and a formal cease fire has yet to be put into effect. A the principal victims of Saddam have been the people of the Region a the iraqis the iranians and the kuwaitis above All a said Adam Roberts an Oxford University professor and an authority on the Laws of War. A i think its a matter of opinion for the Region to form before Western Powers take up the  a a Pentagon Legal official agreed. A to the extent that kuwaiti civilians literally were raped tortured and murdered by iraqi occupation forces id exit act the kuwaitis to take the Lead in any Egal action against Saddam or other members of his regime a said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Lord Shawcross who helped prosecute nazi War criminals at the Nurnberg trials after world War ii also said he has doubts about the West putting Saddam on trial. Such a trial could be regarded As a vendetta if the West went after him Shawcross said. A we want cooperation not More antagonism a Between the West and the Middle East Shawcross said. A it would be far better if the iraqi people overthrew him and then tried  in a recent British newspaper article Roberts wrote that an alternative to having the people of the Middle East decide Saddam a Fate is to set up a a genuinely International tribunal following a decision by the . General Assembly. But other experts said they were unsure that an effective International tribunal especially one that would operate under . Auspices could be formed. A considering the usually fractious nature of the ., with All kinds of possible vetoes within the Security Council that  be a very effective forum a Wallace said. A a it a something of  that the . Was Able to act As cohesively As it did in the months preceding the  a a a a a a Quot a a a a a the defense department official also said he disliked an International tribunal. A a it a preferable for a single nation to prosecute alleged War criminals in that nations courts because the Legal apparatus is already in place a he said. That would not be unprecedented he said. In 1962, Israel executed Adolf Eich Mann following his War crimes trial. Eich Mann captured in Argentina in 1960 by israeli agents was a senior nazi official and an architect of the jewish extermination program. Roberts and Wallace said the easiest charges to bring against Saddam and others in the iraqi leadership Are probably the Clear violations of existing International Laws such As the 1907 Hague and 1949 Geneva conventions dealing with the taking of hostages and treatment of military prisoners and civilians under occupation. The Oil dumping and torching of kuwaiti Wells Are a extremely serious crimes that could be categorized As crimes against humanity under the Geneva conventions Roberts said. A a that a a violation on All Points of decency a Roberts said. A the went beyond what was militarily necessary. The acts had zilch military  Roberts and Wallace said the invasion and annexation of Kuwait could be considered crimes against peace but they differed on the More serious category of crimes against  defends reports from Baghdad As vital to the american Public Washington a Peter Arnett came Home to a heroes Welcome tuesday at the National press club and defended his reporting from Baghdad As vital to the american Public. A i have no apologies a the Cable news network correspondent told hundreds of his Peers in the audience. He had been called an iraqi sympathizer by sen. Alan Simpson r-wyo., and Many other americans also had questioned Why lie had stayed behind to report from the capital of a nation with whom the United states was at War. Arnett the Only . Journalist to report from Iraq for the duration of the War said he was a amused frankly Arnett by Simpsons com ments. But he added a i guess the american people weren to quite Clear about what we were  the american news Media have a Long history of covering both sides of wars from Vietnam from Central America and from Afghanistan he said. Some of Arnett a most controversial reports dealt with the . Bombing of what Iraq called a civilian bomb shelter. The Pentagon called it a command and control Center for the iraqi military. Scores of people were killed in the attack. Arnett questioned iraqi officials repeatedly about the bombed shelter and examined it. He said the Only change he made in his reports As the Story unfolded was to delete the word a a civilian in reference to the facility and to simply Call it a shelter. Iraqi censorship was a a fairly Tough obstacle said Arnett. But the american Public Learned substantial information from his reports despite this he said. Though he Wasny to frightened for his life one Day a . Cruise missile blew up an auditorium a scant 200 Yards away he added that the near misses seemed to scare the Ever present iraqi censors. A they did no to have the future of journalistic Freedom in their minds a Arnett quipped. Arnett who has covered 17 wars also pleaded for the release of kidnapped journalist Terry Anderson. The associated press chief Middle East Corret Sponden was grabbed by Radical groups six years ago in Lebanon. The powerlessness of the news Media and the . Government in the Case is reflected in their inability a to win his Freedom a Arnett said. In contrast he said Iraq released the lbs Crew that was grabbed during the Gulf War after implied threats from the . Government. Before Arnett spoke a dozen protesters from the conservative group accuracy in Media picketed the National press building demonstrating against his reporting from Baghdad during the War. One demonstrator wore a Saddam Hussein mask manipulating the a a puppet Arnett with strings attached to a protester portraying the can correspondent. Britons bodies returned London up the bodies of eight servicemen kill Ethan the Ulfar were returned Home to Britain on tuesday a defense ministry spokesman said. The servicemen five members of the Royal air Force and two soldiers ranging in age from 24 to 42, were killed a in activity  Gulf a the spokesman said. The circumstances behind their deaths were not made Public. The bodies which Iraq handed Over to the International committee of the red Cross arrived at Raf Brize  performance in the persian Gulf a Battlefield data Are beginning to trickle in from the persian Gulf on the overwhelming Success of army weapons. Quot we were always sure that these systems would work and work Well a said one army official. Quot but their performance. Surprised some people even in the army  Here is a look at the critics prewar worries about some of the weapons and the equipment s actual wartime performance. M1a1 tank Bradley fighting vehicle criticism its Turbine engine was branded As prone to breakdowns. Performance readiness rates for the two major armoured forces in the War were Well above the service Standard of 90 percent. War highlights the 3rd army div s complement of More than 300 m1a1s covered 120 Miles in one night without a single breakdown. The army lost Only four of the nearly 2,000 m1a1 s in the theater. Not a single m1a1 Crew member was killed in the fighting. Criticism the vehicle was said to be vulnerable to enemy tank rounds and other ordnance. Performance three Bradley were disabled one by an Apache hellfire missile but the army says it does not yet have Complete data on How Many Bradley were damaged or the extent of the damage. War highlights the vehicles 25mm Cannon proved highly effective against iraqi t-72 tanks considered one of the Best soviet models. Ah-64 Apache criticism the helicopter had a reputation for frequent breakdowns. Performance the chopper exceeded the army s operational readiness rates of 70 percent. But officials have declined to say  much. War highlights eight apaches from the 101st airborne div went deep into Iraq to blow up two Early warning radar ground control sights. The Mission took 15 hours and covered almost 1,000 Miles. None of the apaches broke Down or suffered damage. Compiled by stall writer Chuck Emch irom Pentagon sources a amps Wes Booher Susan Harris