He still thinks he's President.

Saddam Hussein and his defense team have boycotted his trial. The Associated Press reported today that,

"Hussein's defense team have said they would not attend the trial until Abdel-Rahman is removed. The former Iraqi leader and four other defendants have refused to work with the replacement lawyers that Abdel-Rahman installed during a stormy session on Sunday."

They should be dragged into court, bound and gagged, placed in a plexiglass soundproof box and allowed to speak only at the appropriate time. If they speak out of context or proceed with some political diatribe, the sound should be cut off and a refusal to answer question should be entered into the record.

I like this Judge, but the United States really needs for Saddam to be present for this trial, the first real test of Iraq's new democracy. His absence would cast doubts on its fairness.