The AP reports what appears to be a revenge attack against a prominent Baathist.
Is this just the beginning? Will Iraqi victims and their families conduct a reign of terror against the Baathists? Do you approve of these revenge attacks?
What do you mean just the beginning? This has been going on for quite some time.
I think it’s just part of the conventional cleansing of a society. If memory serves, the streets of Paris were awash in the week after liberation with the bodies of collaborators – I really can’t recall how many thousand bodies were found in that first week so I won’t guess.
This is, obviously, an occupation, but the OP is essentially addressing a civilian response to the former regime.
Good point, Eolbo. The American media has paid little attention to these revenge attacks against Baathists. The reason may be that these attacks show how happy Iraqis are that the Baath Party is out of power. The attacks don’t follow the media story line of focusing on things that appear to be going wrong.
So, it is your position that an outbreak of vengance killings and continued lawless violence in Iraq is a sign of how well the whole mess is going?
Yeah, since 1991.
I don’t think you’re going to get too many “hell, yeah’s” for vigilantism here, but whatever.
Isn’t this the same media which, in articles about the killing of Saddam’s sons, usually recounted without comment a long list of atrocities they committed against Iraqis? If ‘the media’, whatever that is, was for some unknown reason trying to show the Ba’athists in a favorable light, wouldn’t they have either left that information out, or at least commented that it was uncorroborated?
I don’t apporve. Do you?
So, Iraq is sliding down the slippery slope into civil war, and december cheers.
Am I the only one who sees something wrong here?
I do try not to think the worst of him, but he makes it so damn difficult at times.
The assisinations are of interest if they’re indeed an indication public sentiment is starting to swing our way with the final realization/acceptance by the man on the street that Baathists won’t be returning to power. I’m not sure that’s what it does in fact mean but we’re obviously going to be quick on the uptake of anything suggesting a redirection of popular support.
Yes, for several reasons.
– It drives home the message that the Baath Regime is over and is regarded by Iraqis as evil.
– Dead Baathists can’t return to power, nor can they attack American soldiers
– Justice. Many of these Baathists deserve death because of the horrors they committed
– Baathists who are kept busy fleeing vengeance squads may not be able to arrange attacks on US soldiers
I will remain in favour of ordinary Iraqis’ killing Baathists at their own discretion, unless somebody would propose a more satisfactory resolution to 30 years of Baath rule legacy.
Comes down to how much its membership and how much its cultural/racial.
This could be the start of Yugoslavia, or Rwanda after all - theres a range of possibilities for how bad this kind of vigilantiism might end up.
And its not necessariyl the case the the people doing the killing are who you’d necessarily want to see end up ruling the country either after all.
Otara
Sounds like you’re getting the Shi’ites and the Ba’athists confused there, Roger.