Anfal officer wants U.S. to face justice

A former military officer on trial for the mass killing of Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s testified Thursday he was defending the country from Iran and that U.S. commanders should also face prosecution for waging an "illegal" war in Iraq.

Rashid Hussein Mohammed, a former deputy director of operations for the Iraqi military, is among six defendants on trial for crimes against humanity and other offenses allegedly committed during Operation Anfal, a deadly crackdown against pro-Iranian Kurdish rebels in the 1980-88 war with Iran.

More than 180,000 Kurds, mostly civilians, were killed, according to the prosecution.

"If defending our country is our crime, then we are proud of it," Mohammed said. "We do not regret liberating our country."

Mohammed said that top U.S. commanders should also face prosecution for the 2003 invasion of Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein.

"This war was illegal," Mohammed said of the Iraq invasion. "No U.S. military commander has asked his government about the legitimacy of the occupation."

Since the invasion, a legal arrangement has existed under which American troops are immune from prosecution under Iraqi law. The U.N. Security Council has also authorized the U.S. and coalition presence at the request of the Iraqi government.

During his testimony, Mohammed maintained his role in the Anfal crackdown was to provide technical advice and that he did not take a direct part in killing anyone.

"I did not commit any crime against humanity," he said. "The ethnic cleansing was a big lie."

He said the Iraqi army had to take severe measures in Kurdistan because Iranian forces were planning to flood Baghdad by blowing up two major dams in the north.

Saddam was a defendant in the Anfal trial but was sentenced to death after his conviction for the killing of 148 Shiite Muslims after a 1982 assassination attempt against him in Dujail. He was hanged Dec. 30, even though the Anfal trial had begun.

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Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report.