SADDAM Hussein's phalanx of high-priced defense lawyers is planning a hypothetical war crimes trial of United States, British and Israeli leaders.
 
The two-day moot, set to begin Friday, will be sponsored by the Cairo-based Federation of Arab Lawyers.
 
Mock charges against President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, will include, "crimes committed against civilians in Palestine and Iraq," said Ziad Khasawna, the federation's assistant secretary-general.
 
Khasawna said the trial will be an, "exhibition of popular opposition to the policies of those three leaders in the region and the extent of harm and damage they inflicted on civilians and countries by wars they waged and the oppression practiced in jails run by their forces."

And the best thing is, since Saddam will not be present at the mock trial, the court will not have to put up with his churlish histrionics.