Saddam's masterful courtroom act

By Jon Brain
BBC News, Baghdad

Saddam Hussein's outbursts have ranged from angry to comical

On Monday he looked dishevelled and angry. On Tuesday a smart dark suit had replaced the robe and the demeanour was calm - at times, even playful.

With all the confidence of a man who appears to believe he is still the president of his country, Saddam Hussein strolled into court as though he did not have a care in the world.

As he passed the glassed press box he peered quizzically at the journalists on the other side, as though he was visiting a zoo and we were some curious new exhibits.

The exhibits stared back, totally fascinated.

Like all successful actors, Saddam Hussein is a master of playing to the crowd.

Hollow ring

And, watched at close quarters, this trial does indeed sometimes seem like a surreal piece of theatre.

The danger with the soap opera being played out here is that it can easily overshadow what this trial is actually about Saddam trial: Your views The emerging evidence

Yes there is anger, yes there are emotional outbursts. But somehow these outbursts do not quite ring true. There is no spontaneity to them.

Saddam rants and raves before he takes his seat in the dock but you get the sense its through a sense of obligation, the role expected of him each time the curtain goes up.

Much of the time he sits quietly - at least until his next cue.

Often he leaves centre stage to his co-star, his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti.

On Tuesday the former head of intelligence was again dressed in what he said were his pyjamas, claiming he had been forced into the court against his will for a second day running.

It is all good knockabout fun. Or is it?

Smokescreen?

The danger with the soap opera being played out here is that it can easily overshadow what this trial is actually about: the killings of more than 140 Iraqis villagers.

Judge Abdul Rahman has kept his cool

By turning the hearing into a daily farce, Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants can keep talk of atrocities firmly in the background.

Keep your audience amused and they might postpone thoughts of more unsavoury matters. So the one-liners come thick and fast.

"Why don't you hit your own head with the hammer," Saddam suggested to chief judge Raouf Abdul Rahman pointing to his honour's gavel, raising laughs throughout the court.

But Mr Abdel Rahman, who took over the case when the previous chief judge resigned, is proving himself more than capable of dealing with such tactics.

He allows the defendants their outbursts, watching them like a disapproving parent witnessing a toddler's tantrum.

Then when he has had enough he orders them to ''sit down and shut up". And, usually they do.

On Tuesday he was so successful that for a time Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti forgot his role as showman and gave a lengthy account of his version of events at Dujail.

Despite the costume changes, despite the plot twists and despite the one-liners this trial might still have a successful outcome.