Iraq's Justice Minister accuses U.S. of having "lots of secrets they want to hide"

June 21, 2005

In an exclusive interview with the Associated Press, Abdel Hussein Shandal, Iraq's Justice Minister, said, "it seems there are lots of secrets they [U.S. government] want to hide."

Shandal accused the U.S. of concealing information about Saddam Hussein and of trying to delay Iraqi interrogations of Hussein. The Iraqi government had said that Saddam's trial would be held within two months, but they are now saying it will be before the end of 2005.

American officials have urged Iraq to be cautious about expediting a trial and have said Iraq needs to have a more established judicial system first. U.S. officials have also stated that the trial might inflame sectarian tensions and interfere with the drafting of an Iraqi constitution.