Former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz faced the Iraqi High Tribunal Tuesday on war crimes charges for the execution of 42 business men who protested rising food prices in the wake of U.N. sanctions on the former regime. Aziz, widely recognized by his coke-bottle glasses and bombastic English, surrendered to U.S. forces shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Though Aziz was one of the longest serving allies in the former regime, he largely kept out of day-to-day decisions, and, as the only Christian in the administration, left all the major decisions to his colleagues. He has been in U.S. custody since 2003 without charge and several observers say his trial is a way to vet the prosecution of former administration officials as the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki faces rising credibility issues.
