BAGHDAD, Iraq - A defiant Saddam Hussein quarreled with judges and scuffled with guards at the opening of his long-awaited trial Wednesday, rejecting the tribunal's right to judge him and insisting he is still the president of Iraq.
Wednesday's session, held under tight security, was testy from the start, when the judge asked Saddam to take the stand first.
Saddam refused to state his name. "I do not respond to this so-called court, with all due respect to its people, and I retain my constitutional right as the president of Iraq," he said.
And later Saddam asked to step out of the room, but when two guards tried to grab his arms to escort him out, he angrily shook them off. Saddam and the guards shoved each other and yelled for about a minute. In the end, he was allowed to walk independently out of the room, with the two guards behind him.
The three-hour session ended with Amin announcing an adjournment until Nov. 28.
