"A HISTORIC DAY"

At a local coffee shop in downtown Baghdad, 50-year-old el-Hajj Hassan said his heart raced when he saw Saddam on television.

Saddam Hussein sits inside courtroom, Thursday
Mr. Hassan says this is a "historic" day for all the people of Iraq, and he says he feels very happy to see Saddam in what he called, "the cage" - meaning the defendant's chair. Mr. Hassan says Saddam crossed all the lines of humanity in his harsh treatment of the Iraqi people, and he should be punished for it.