Rightly or wrongly, the commission of Iraqi war crimes raises the question of American support for the Hussein regime. Indeed, Jacques Vergès, a French lawyer who says he has been asked to help represent Mr. Hussein, has already promised that the issue will take center stage before the special tribunal. Mr. Vergès has stated that he hopes to nullify Mr. Hussein's crimes by demonstrating that the United States was complicit in their commission.

Oh, the "ties" that put us in a bind ...