US expects Saddam's hanging to trigger reprisals

CRAWFORD: One day after Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death, the White House has said, it expected his hanging would trigger a wave of reprisals from his supporters in Iraq.

"Certainly that's something that the multinational forces are aware of and Iraqi forces are certainly aware of," White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said regarding a potential surge of violence linked to Saddam's hanging.

"So we've seen in the past that the enemies have worked to use any excuse to foment violence, and that's something that we're monitoring, for sure," the spokesman said in Crawford, Texas, where President George W Bush is spending the end of the year.

Saddam and two regime cohorts were convicted of crimes against humanity on November 5, after a court heard they ordered the deaths of 148 Shiite men from the village of Dujail in an act of collective punishment.

Saddam's death sentence was upheld by an Iraqi appeals court on Tuesday, and judges have ordered that he die within 30 days.

Stenzel denied any US government involvement in deciding when Saddam is to be hanged.

"That is a matter for the Iraqi people, and we are observers to that process. They are a sovereign government, and they will make their own decisions regarding carrying out that justice," the spokesman added.

Without commenting on the Iraqi appeals court's decision, the White House on Tuesday said Saddam's confirmed death sentence "marks a milestone for Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law".