Detailed Argument, Rational Unbiased Thoughts

Charles Krauthammer wrote a thoughtful editorial on the execution of Hussein. My question is "what level of functionality are we expecting from the Iraqi government at this point?" By what standards are we gauging them? If the Western media is judging them by Western values, then Western media will continue to be disappointed, shocked and repulsed.

We are now chest deep in this. Do we bail because we bought a barbaric third-world problem or is the greater long-term good still worth a reality check on our expectations before we continue to nudge in the direction of a finish line? Frustrated and disappointed is understandable, but it's time to stop being surprised when it happens. What did we expect?

These are deep, complex problems and yet we cannot begin again. The question is what is the best strategy moving forward. Damn if I know. Maybe those with a better understanding of history could blueprint the way. I'm still simply learning in a 101 version.

The Hanging: Beyond Travesty
By Charles Krauthammer - Friday, January 5, 2007;

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.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/04/AR2007010401347.html