Saddam Trial to begin in mid-October

How convenient. The WaPo reports Saddam's trial will begin between October 15th and 20th, just in time to deflect attention from the deadline for the special investigation into the Plame leak. The AP based report notes the official reason.

[An] official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to make the formal announcement, said the date was chosen so that Iraqis would have completed the referendum on the constitution before the start of the trial.

Saddam is expected to face about a dozen trials for alleged crimes committed by his regime, including the gassing of Kurds in Halabja and the 1991 suppression of a Shiite uprising in the south.

Of course, that's assuming Hussien doesn't get the death penalty for the first crimes he's charged with, but either way, it will provide a handy smokescreen for The White House and Mr. Rove for some weeks to come. God knows what kind of underhanded power plays they'll start pulling, if it starts looking like Fitzgerald might really take them down.