Ghosts of Halabja : Saddam Hussein and the Kurdish genocide / Michael J. Kelly ; foreword by Ra'id Juhi al Saedi.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [175]-177) and index.

Foreword / Ra'id Juhi al Saedi -- Introduction. Saddam Hussein and the Prelude to Genocide -- Pt. 1. Genocide of the Kurds -- 1. Kurdistan (Introduction and Background on Region and People) -- 2. The Anfal Campaigns -- 3. The Gassing of Halabja -- Pt. 2. The Two Gulf Wars -- 4. The 1991 Persian Gulf War -- 5. Divided Loyalties (Internal Dissent within Kurdish Factions) -- 6. The 2003 Iraq War -- Pt. 3. Saddam on Trial -- 7. Creation of the Iraqi High Tribunal -- 8. The Dujail Trial -- 9. The Anfal Trial and Saddam's Execution -- 10. International Law - The Road Not Taken -- Appendix A. Declassified U.S. Government Documents-Financial Backing for Iraq during Iran-Iraq War -- Appendix B. Declassified U.S. Government Documents-Knowledge and Reaction to Chemical Weapons Use during Iran-Iraq War -- Appendix C. Charging of Saddam Hussein (Anfal) -- Appendix D. Statute of the Iraqi High Tribunal.

"Saddam Hussein's execution for his crimes against Iraq's Shi'a not only brought an end to his reign of oppression, but also to the justice that was to be served to the Iraqi Kurds." "The Kurds have continually been subject to adversity since the end of World War I, when they were denied their own homeland and split among three countries: Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. During Saddam's 24-year reign, the Kurds of Iraq were frequently "under the knife" of injustice. Between 1987 and 1989, Saddam unleashed genocide, razing over 2,000 villages and murdering at least 50,000 Kurds." "The unspeakable atrocities visited by Saddam upon the Kurds of Iraq are explored here together with the trials of Saddam by the Iraqi High Tribunal - both the completed prosecution for the Dujail massacre against the Shi'ites and the incomplete one for the Anfal Campaigns against the Kurds." "However, this work is more than a litigation history. It is also an exploration of the motivations behind and the depths of organized evil in the context of a single, brutal despot at the helm of an artificially created multi-ethno/religious state lying atop massive oil wealth, but situated in the most dangerous part of the world. Saddam's background and the context of his rule explain much about his actions, but not all. He remained an unpredictable tyrant to the end of his reign."--BOOK JACKET.