'I am president of Iraq. This is all theatre, the real criminal is Bush'

A DEFIANT Saddam Hussein rejected charges of war crimes and genocide in a court appearance in Baghdad yesterday, telling a judge "this is all theatre, the real criminal is Bush".

Saddam was handcuffed when brought to the court but the shackles were removed for the 30-minute arraignment at Camp Victory, one of his former palaces on the outskirts of Baghdad.

"I am Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq," Saddam twice said, according to a reporter in an official media pool. He was alternately downcast and defiant, becoming more animated in his exchanges with the judge as the hearing went on.