Revenge Killing In Iraq

We knew it had to start happening at some point. Shi'ites in Basra are nowexecuting revenge killings against Ba'athists Sunnis who used to run Iraq.

We've really done a pretty good job of keeping these kind of events under control. But look at the response of the Iraqi police chief in Basra: With a shrug, Cpl. Hisham Jabar, chief investigating officer in the killing of Muhammad Abdul Nabi al- Gishi on Wednesday afternoon, said, "No one has been arrested."

Want to know why it's not time to turn the country back over to the Iraqis? That response right there is the best reason.

They have made strides, but they still don't understand completely the concept of rule by law. Coming out of a system where the rule of law was fungible it is unreasonable to expect an instant adjustment to a fair and equitable law. But that shift must be made before the country can be completely turned back over to the Iraqi people.

This is not an unexpected turn of events, but it does represent a test for the Iraqi law enforcement and the formative Iraqi regime. They need to bring the responsible people to justice. They need to show that the laws will be enforced fairly, regardless of who the victim or the perpetrator might be.

Only when that begins to become the expectation, rather than the exception, will it be time to turn the country back over.