The Irony

The New York Times' John Burns rightly proclaimed the events of the last couple of days in Iraq, the lynching-like hanging of Saddam Hussein, "Shakespearian."

The ultimate irony to me is that those being "blamed" with the ethical violations of filming the event and making sectarian jeers at Mr Hussein in his last moments are the lowly guards.

A la Abu Ghraib, the grunts take the blame for the utter lack of judgement and misfunctioning of their government from the top down.

Apparently there were roughly 15 people viewing the moment. Two were VIPs or "government officials", according to media reports, the only to be allowed to carry cel phones. So the VIPs were the only with the opportunity to film this. According to the Guardian:

Sami al-Askeri, a Shiite lawmaker who also advises al-Maliki, said two "Justice Ministry guards were being questioned. The investigation committee is interrogating the men. If it is found that any official was involved he will face legal measures.''