Gee, I wonder what the Bush administration could be hiding.
Maybe Rumsfeld's connection to war crimes?
The Iraqis are anxious for this trial to get started.
The Americans, not so much.
AP story excerpted below.
Iraq's justice minister on Tuesday accused the United States of trying to delay Iraqi efforts to interrogate Saddam Hussein, saying "it seems there are lots of secrets they want to hide."
Justice Minister Abdel Hussein Shandal also told The Associated Press he was confident that Saddam's trial on war crimes charges would be over by the end of the year, underlining the Iraqi government's determination to try the ousted leader soon.
"This trial will be accomplished within 2005 - and this will only be in Iraqi courts," he said in an interview on the sidelines of an international conference on his country's future.
U.S. officials had no immediate comment on Shandal's remarks, but the Americans privately have urged caution about rushing into a trial, saying the Iraqis need to develop a good court and judicial system - one of the main topics of discussion at the conference in Brussels, Belgium.
An official at the press office of the Iraqi Special Tribunal that is overseeing the court proceedings in Baghdad stressed it was an independent body and was not bound by the minister's comments. He said no date had been set for Saddam's trial.
"The interrogation of Saddam is taking place regularly and almost daily and neither the justice minister nor the Americans have anything to do with it because the IST is an independent court," the official said.
"Saddam's trial will start as soon as the investigation finishes," added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
Saddam, 68, has been jailed under American control at a U.S. military detention complex near Baghdad airport named Camp Cropper, which holds 110 high-profile detainees.
Shandal alleged that U.S. officials deliberately are trying to limit access to Saddam because they have their own secrets to protect, including funnelling money and support to Iraqi leader during his rule.
"It seems there are lots of secrets they want to hide," Shandal said.