Implications of the Botched Hanging

Part of me is leaning in the direction that Charles Krauthammer has delineated below: The current Iraqi government is not worth shedding American blood over. Another part of me is saying: Regardless, we simply can't desert the Iraqis now. 

Krauthammer writes:

Of the 6 billion people on this Earth, not one killed more people than Saddam Hussein. And not just killed but tortured and mutilated -- doing so often with his own hands and for pleasure. It is quite a distinction to be the preeminent monster on the planet. If the death penalty was ever deserved, no one was more richly deserving than Saddam Hussein.

For the Iraqi government to have botched both his trial and execution, therefore, and turned monster into victim, is not just a tragedy but a crime -- against the new Iraq that Americans are dying for and against justice itself.

In late 2005, I wrote about the incompetence of the Hussein trial and how it was an opportunity missed. Instead of exposing, elucidating and irrefutably making the case for the crimes of the accused -- as was done at Nuremberg and the Eichmann trial -- the Iraqi government lost control and inadvertently turned it into a stage for Hussein. The trial managed to repair the image of the man the world had last seen as a bedraggled nobody pulled cowering from a filthy hole. Now coiffed and cleaned, he acted the imperious president of Iraq, drowning out the testimony of his victims in coverage seen around the world.

That was bad enough. Then came the execution, a rushed, botched, unholy mess that exposed the hopelessly sectarian nature of the Maliki government.

...The whole sorry affair illustrates not just incompetence but also the ingrained intolerance and sectarianism of the Maliki government. It stands for Shiite unity and Shiite dominance above all else.

We should not be surging American troops in defense of such a government. This governing coalition -- Maliki's Dawa, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim's Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and Sadr's Mahdi Army -- seems intent on crushing the Sunnis at all costs. Maliki should be made to know that if he insists on having this sectarian war, he can well have it without us.

I just don't know what is right here.  One thing I do believe:  Bush should be distancing himself and us from the disasterous way the execution was carried out. Further, he should voice his disapproval and should severely chastise Maliki for being so blatantly partisan and for destroying hopes for a peaceful and united government.  It's possible that Bush has said something like this and I missed it.  But in any event, it ought to be shouted from the rooftops and unmistakeable. It should be made into a BIG DEAL.

After giving it some more thought:  We are in Iraq to establish a peaceful and stable government because it is in our best interest to do so.  If we leave prematurely, the vacuum would be filled with something worse that, in my opinion, we would have to deal with again in the future anyway.

We aren't fighting for Maliki's government. We are fighting for peace and security, which is worth fighting for. 

Comments

[GM Roper]

Gail, that is PRECISELY the point that needs to be made. Freedom is never free and the price to be paid is sometimes horrendous. Keep Up the Great Work and have a wonderful new year.

P.S., when I signed on, The "eye" took a moment to load and I was afraid you had removed one of the hallmarks of your blog... not to worry I see!