On Friday, gunmen killed Ali Qassem al-Tamimi, the district mayor of Najaf's al-Furat neighborhood, as he was shopping with a friend in downtown Najaf, according to Lt. Raed Jawad Abdel Saada. Early Saturday, two assailants riding by on a bicycle opened fire on former provincial party official Damiyah Abbas and her son as they were leaving their home. The 5-year-old boy was killed instantly, and Abbas was hospitalized in critical condition, according to another police officer, Lt. Raed Abbas. Damiyah Abbas was believed to have participated in putting down a 1991 Shi'ite uprising against the government of Saddam. Al-Tamimi's position would have involved him acting as an informer, reporting to Baath Party officials in Baghdad on the political activities and jobs of residents.
Now, some readers consider these killings no bad thing. But I say this: Revenge killings, while part of the culture, are a recipe for disaster. To those who look on with satisfaction at the vigilante justice meted out to these people, I say this: You are encouraging the destruction of Iraq as a country. You are encouraging its collapse into warring factions that will make the current chaos appear like a pre-game warmup. There can be no justice at the hands of a mob, for such "justice" breeds fear, suspicion and hatred. And God knows there's enough of that in Iraq right now. Many Sunnis already feel scared and insecure about their role in the new Iraq. These murders will drive already frightened Sunnis into the arms of the insurgents and will lead to civil war. No, it's better to let the courts -- whatever form they may take -- deal out justice. A mob is the basest form of human organization, and anyone who's been one knows how terrifying they can be. Even a happy mob is a frightening thing. A society's judiciary, however, can represent its best angels. A well-functioning bench represents the ultimate triumph of the forces of civilizations over the rule of nature, red in tooth and claw. It represents the faith citizens place in the power of the state to be fair and impartial, allowing them to forgo the freelance pursuit of justice. If you who cheer the deaths of Ba'athists at the hands of a mob truly want a democratic Iraq, one that respects the human rights of _all_ the peoples of that country, you'll work for and encourage an Iraqi justice system that is fair, transparent and independent, for such an institution would mean in Iraq the United States will have done its job well. It would mean America will have left behind faith in the rule of law, something Iraqis have never had. An independent and fair judiciary would lead Iraq's citizens to genuinely respect the Iraqi state, instead of living in a republic of fear. These acts of violence should be condemned, regardless of whether they're perpetrated by Shi'ite, Sunni or Kurd. To do otherwise is to dishonor the birthplace of civilization.
What a shame all of the smart, powerful men in D.C. couldn’t figure out how to pull Saddam out of Iraq thousands of lives (and billion$ of dollars) ago.
It’s disgusting but not surprising if some folks are cheering each new Iraqi murder, since we are running a tad thin on “liberty and justice for all” in America right now. I can’t forget how I wrote a letter to my hometown newspaper very reasonably (I thought) pointing out the potential downside of instigating war; my high school art/creative writing teacher (and a flaming peacenik flower child at the time) wrote back a caustic reply suggesting I be arrested and flown to Iraq to live or, preferably, die because I did not deserve to live in the U.S. if I did not favor declaring war.
With the steady flow of “us, not them” hatemongering flowing from our nation’s capitol, how can America bring peace, much less liberty or prosperity, to a region we just finished mangling? If the shock-and-awe of violent destruction was intended to beget love and harmony, then right about now would be a good time for some seeds of love to sprout into beautiful flowers. It ain’t happening that way? Go figger.
I hate sounding so negative, but I’m fresh out of positive spin. Perhaps somebody else owns more deeply rose-coloured spectacles to paint it with.
Peace on earth, goodwill toward men, everyone.
Ah, but we had figured it out how to pull Saddam back from the place we put him, and we instituted it. We sent in a small team to get him, cornered him on a bridge, held a gun to his head to pull the trigger, but called in on a cell phone to reconfirm the final act. That cell phone call caused the mission to be immediately aborted as it was an unsecure line and assassinating leaders was made illegal by President Reagan. The CIA agent who was commissioned to do it acknowledges these facts and was arrested by our own government to try to cover the assassination up and avoid arrest of our president for the illegal act that quite didnt get done.
Subsequently president George has quietly repealed this law. We could have still done it again, but WE WANTED TO INVADE instead! The reasons for which are elemental. We need oil. We were being physically kicked out of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia propogates terrorists, not Iraq. We need , therefore, new military bases close to but outside of Saudi Arabia. Now we have them: three huges bases under construction as we speak.
Rose colored glasses are great if one wants to keep purposefully confusing oneself. I had one of those kalidoscope binocular things when I was a kid. The dancing images in the viewer were great fun, but I couldn’t see the real world thru them for a darn.
Very hapy to see you posting more regularly, Chris.
Typo alert: “its best angels.”
D’oh! Thanks, Globecanvas. I try to catch ‘em, but sometimes they get through. Thanks.
Thanks for posting this