Updated

The United States will soon release to Iraq's new government the ruthless dictator who ruled over Iraqis with an iron fist for more than 30 years, the Iraqi interim prime minister said Tuesday.

But U.S. officials say not so fast.

Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Saddam Hussein and all other detainees would be turned over to the Iraqi people to face justice during the next two weeks as the June 30 date to turn over sovereignty to the new government nears.

Saddam's status: Hold on or hand over?

A sample of your responses:

We should hold him and try him as well. The supporters of Saddam may try to break him out and he is a savvy man, he would overtake the country again and then we would have the job of tracking and capturing him all over again.
Ray
TX

Although I think we should let the Iraqi people try Saddam Hussein, I don't trust them not to be intimidated. We should jointly prosecute this tyrant.
John
DE

We better turn Saddam over to the Iraqis because there is certainly no guarantee of justice in the US. Consider the fates of OJ, and more recently, Terry Nichols. If anyone deserved the death penalty it's Terry Nichols. Hand him over. The sooner the better.
Ray
Owensville, MO

I am a soldier in Iraq right now and I think that if we hand Saddam over to the Iraqi government right now, he will never be charged for what he has done. It's just not debatable! The U.S. government should not hand over Saddam until he is tried! If Saddam gets off scott free, the same thing may happen again and that will cause the American troops to have to come to Iraq again and start all over again. Thank you for your time!
Andrew L.
U.S. Army Soldier
Operation Iraqi Freedom

We have liberated an entire nation of people and given then the opportunity of democracy and freedom. They deserve to comfront the demons of their past and wash there hands of decades of oppression. It would be a great beginning for the Iraqi people.
Matt
Fort Bragg, NC

I say hold on to him.  How many people in the US have been held on charges, then not come up for trial for years? Why can't bureaucracy work that way when we need it to. Saddam is a threat to us. I believe he should eventually be turned over to be tried in the Middle East, but not until we have our chance on him to be held responsible for the deaths of 9-11.
Jennifer P.
KY

I think we should compromise. Let's give half of Saddam back to Iraq.
Steve S.
Boca Raton, FL

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