It can’t be a good sign when Iraq’s new government can’t even get an execution right. Judging from a graphic cell phone video available on the Internet, the whole thing took place on the set of Saw III.

From Reuters:

“The Iraqi government launched an inquiry on Monday into how guards filmed and taunted Saddam Hussein on the gallows, turning his execution into a televised spectacle that has inflamed sectarian anger.

…

“But mobile phone footage on the Web showed guards shouting ‘Go to hell!’, chanting the name of a Shi’ite militia leader and exchanging insults with Saddam before he fell through the trap in mid-prayer and his body swung, broken-necked, on the rope.”

Afterwards, some danced a jig, and when a TV reporter wore black to cover the event, the government cracked down on the station.

Of course, the problem here isn’t that Saddam didn’t die with dignity; he didn’t deserve to. The problem is that the hanging and its aftermath were high-profile events that should have been carried out with professionalism. The fact they weren’t indicates the Iraqi government isn’t taking its responsibilities seriously.

As the midterm elections showed, the American public is growing impatient with this war. Every strategy for Iraq involves transfering power to the Iraqis at some pace or another — and trusting the officials fear anarchy enough to use said power wisely. This trust is misplaced if they reason that, well, the U.S. will step in if things get too bad. I can see no other reason they’d have put so little effort into this.

All this comes amidst strife in the country that isn’t dying down. An execution run like a frat house hazing will do nothing to help matters.

Robert VerBruggen blogs at http://www.therationale.com and http://robertsrationale.blogspot.com.