Didn't last long did he?

Those of you who are following the circus that substitutes for a trial of Saddam may have spotted this little item on Reuters:

Saddam judge stands by resignation: court spokesman

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The chief judge in the trial of Saddam Hussein is standing by his resignation and efforts by Iraqi officials to dissuade him were not expected to reach a conclusion on Monday, a spokesman for the court said.

Those of you who think this is not significant should read what John Simpson was quoted on the BBC web site. The BBC seemed fairly sure that the Judge was only pretending at the time because the news item was changed later to remove that quote. Fortunately for us the Tehran Times copied the item:

The BBC's world affairs editor, John Simpson, who has attended the trial in Baghdad, says Judge Rizgar knows his resignation will be a terrible blow to the whole project of bringing Saddam Hussein to justice.

He may be hoping that public opinion will now swing behind him.

If you still dont think so read John Simpson again swooning over the judge:

Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin is a quiet, polite, highly intelligent man, who wants the world to see that he dispenses a very different kind of justice from Saddam's own courts. ... It would be easy to shout Saddam down, or silence him, but that would be to return to the habits of the past. Instead, the judge listens courteously to what is said. And it works.

What are they going to do without him?

Maybe it could be a new job for Ahmad Chalabi who failed spectacularly to get any seats at the election? He certainly could do less harm there than in the oil ministry.