Saddam testifies, is put in his place

Saddam Hussein testified Wednesday for the first time in his murder trial, calling on Iraqis to "stop killing each other and instead fight U.S. troops," the AP reported Thursday.

Instead of answering the charges of killing 148 Iraqis in 1980, Saddam read from a prepared statement, and answered chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman's order that no political speech be made by saying, "I am the head of state."

"You used to be a head of state," Abdel-Rahman replied. "You are a defendant now."

In Wednesday's court session, Saddam "sought to project the image of a man still in power...even as Abdel-Rahman repeatedly stabbed a button on his desk to shut off Saddam's microphone.

"You are a defendant in a major criminal case, concerning the killing of innocents. You have to respond to this charge," Abdel-Rahman told him."