BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein could go on trial for crimes against humanity within two months, far earlier than expected, Iraq's new president, Jalal Talabani, said on Tuesday.

Asked in an interview televised on CNN when Saddam's trial would begin, Talabani said: "I hope within two months."

Iraqi prosecutors and their U.S. advisers say a trial is more likely in 2006, after some of Saddam's lieutenants have been tried, to help build the case against the former dictator.

Iraqi leaders hope that trials of Saddam and his aides will help restore public confidence, sapped by relentless insurgent violence and political bickering that delayed the formation of a cabinet for months.

The sooner Saddam can suffer the consequences that go with his treatment of fellow Iraqis the better. That being said, it makes sense that his underlings would face trial first so that the details that come out during their trials can be used in the prosecution of Saddam himself. Ask any prosecutor, that's just common sense.

But already some leftist conspiracy theorists are claiming that the U.S. is delaying Saddam's trial to avoid disclosure of secrets known to Saddam that would be embarrassing to our government. Which, of course, sets the table rather nicely for these same conspirators (and eventually the mainstream media) to run with any half-assed claim of abuse or shady dealings that the Butcher of Baghdad cares to make.