Seated between his police chief and a U.S. Marine battalion commander, the Iraqi mayor opened his weekly security meeting by explaining how he had authorized one of the local tribes to carry out a summary execution. The police had caught two men who had killed another policeman.
| Look at the bright side: the Iraqi coppers didn't blast the two guys on the spot in a 'suicide-by-cop' incident. |
"As you all know, the Iraqi court system is still weak," said Mayor Farhan Ftehkhan, while an interpreter translated for the benefit of the Americans. "Yesterday I met the sheikhs, and they decided to kill them as soon as possible. So the tribes took their decision and they killed those criminals."
The sheikhs carried out their summary execution in the district of al Qaim in Iraq's vast western desert province of Anbar, where Sunni Arab tribes once hostile to U.S. forces have now joined the Americans to drive out al Qaeda militants. The area, once one of the most dangerous in Iraq, is now one of the quietest. Rows of houses reduced to rubble by heavy fighting are being rebuilt.
| But none of that matters in our narrative. |
The U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, is expected to cite the changes in Anbar when he testifies to Congress on September 10 about the impact of U.S. President George W. Bush's decision to send more troops to Baghdad and Anbar. Bush himself made a surprise visit to the province on Monday, showcasing what he said was one of the main success stories of his military strategy.
But the summary execution is a sign of the compromises that U.S. forces still have to make.
| Yup, life isn't yet perfect in Anbar. Anbar is not yet a secular liberalist province in a progressive liberal secular Iraqi state. We done failed; might as well go home. Blend a puppy on our way out. |
"We are working hard to get the rule of law stood up here," said the Marine battalion commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Jason Bohm, speaking after the security meeting at a border outpost overlooking the Euphrates river as it pours in from Syria. "We still have a way to go."
| It's okay, Colonel Bohm, it isn't that unusual on that continent. |
Across the street from Mayor Ftehkhan's office is a courthouse, newly reconstructed with American aid, gleaming with fresh yellow paint. The Americans have helped train judges. They recruited and trained bodyguards to protect them. They have put in place a brand new team of investigative policemen.
But the new court is authorized to hear criminal cases only if the maximum sentence is five years or less. Murder cases must be tried in the provincial capital Ramadi, where the court is not yet fully functioning, Bohm said.
| 'not yet' functioning. Meaning there is some hope that it will if we just stick with it. |
According to Bohm, the two killers had lured a policeman to a meeting after they learned he was engaged to marry one of their relatives, and bludgeoned him to death. The victim and the killers were from the same tribe. The tribe's elders feared that if they waited for Iraqi justice to reach its verdict, there would be tit-for-tat revenge killings and many more tribesmen would die.
| They do seem to know their brethern tribesmen, don't they. |
The mayor and police agreed to turn the suspects over. The elders had them shot.
"Thanks, yer Honor."
"Don't mention it, monsignor." |
The execution of the two suspects without a proper trial would clearly be a crime, Iraqi legal experts said.
Iraq does have capital punishment for murder, but executions may only be carried out legally by the Maximum Crimes Office in Baghdad after a proper trial, said criminal law expert Ahmed Abid in Baghdad. "We live in a country with courts, and the actions of this mayor and the sheikhs send the wrong message to the world," he said.
| Bless you Ahmed for wanting to make your country better. Now let's get the security situation under control, and you can then spend the rest of your lifetime educating the tribal chiefs. Good luck. |
U.S. forces said they learned about the summary execution only after it had taken place. Bohm said they did what they could to make clear that they did not approve.
"I met with the mayor. I met with the judges. I met with the Iraqi police. I told them we did not condone this," he said. "In their mind they had done nothing wrong. That's the way it was done for centuries."
| And it's going to take more than six months to change that. |
The sheikhs made no effort to deny they had carried out the summary execution. In fact, they provided Bohm with meticulous documentation of their "verdict," bearing their signatures and stamps, as well as a video showing the killers' confessions.
"Here you go, Colonel, nice and tidy-like."
"Umm, thanks."
"Forgive us. You need more stamps?" [clap-clap] "Mahmoud, bring me my special signet ring!" |
In an interview later in his office, Mayor Ftehkhan acknowledged the execution might cause difficulty for his American guests but said he had no choice but to ensure the men were executed before a vendetta could erupt. "Yes, it is embarrassing for the Americans. But if we did not resolve this issue this way, there would be more bloodshed in the town," he said.
| Tough decision to make. Glad we don't have that here. Maybe one day they won't have that in Iraq. |
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