Nothing to Do with Justice
by Colonel (Retired) Wes Martin
October 13, 2013

The Iraqi government’s death sentence on Sunni Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi has nothing to do with justice, but everything to do with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s consolidation of power. The verdict of finding al-Hashemi guilty of conducting assassination operations was bogus. I know from experience that he hated the Iraqi death squads more than any other Iraqi government official did.

In 2006, as the senior operations officer for Task Force 134 (Detention Operations), I asked Vice President al-Hashemi to join me as the honored guest for a detainee-release ceremony at Abu Ghraib. His speech urged the soon-to-be-released Iraqis to return to their homes and work to build a free country. Afterwards, while the two of us sat together, Hashemi expressed concern over both Sunni and Shia death squads. His fears included the very people he had just talked to being rounded up for execution. That day, and throughout the remainder of my tour of duty, we sought ways to stop the killing.

Vice-President al-Hashemi was also a strong supporter of our raids on illegal Iraqi government detention facilities to include within the Iraqi Ministry of Justice compound. Without legal justification, Iraqi citizens were arrested and detained. Family members were contacted and told the cost for release. Failure or inability to pay meant beatings, torture, and death. One of my regrets continues to be not bringing back to the States the meat-hook confiscated during one of those raids. These facilities were, and still are, under Prime Minister al-Maliki’s control. Illegal arrests are now being conducted without interference.

Al-Hashemi’s crime is not of operating death squads, but of leading two political parties opposing al-Maliki’s quest for absolute power. There is a second "crime": Al-Hashemi has been very outspoken about the fundamentalist Iranian government and the ever-growing alliance between al-Maliki and that fundamentalist Iranian government. Tariq’s brother was also opposed to the injustices in Iraq, and his death proved even Iraqi generals are not immune from being murdered for their beliefs.

I once gave al-Hashemi a small gift displaying American Indians. I compared the merging of the many races, cultures, and religions in America throughout our history with what was now happening in Iraq. Graciously accepting, in perfect English he asked how long it took for all of us to come together as one nation. My response was “three hundred years.” Tariq then expressed to me that his country was also going to take time.

Unfortunately, unity in Iraq is becoming as unlikely as a free and open democracy. By maintaining himself as Minister of Interior, Minister of Defense, and head of Iraq security forces; Prime Minister al-Maliki is well on his way to becoming a dictator. Nouri al-Maliki will stop at nothing in his quest for absolute power. This includes destroying the truth along with his political opponents, especially when Maliki’s opponents are striving for justice and true democracy.

The Iraqi Army has been moving armored vehicles, ground troops, and death squads throughout southern and central Iraq. Only in Kurdistan does freedom from fear of government persecution exist. Permanent and unannounced check points are everywhere. Sudden raids into people’s homes are continual. Al-Maliki’s prisons continue to swell. For Iraqi citizens, uncertainty and fear have become the way of life. These realities were not lost on al-Hashemi’s former guards when they we required to testify against him on behalf of the Iraqi government. Meanwhile, to everything bad about Iraq, western governments and media look the other way.

Unfortunately, at the cost of 4,485 Americans killed and 31,921 wounded in action, plus over 100,000 Iraqis killed, the main accomplishment in Iraq has been to replace one brutal regime with another. When al-Maliki has completed his grab for complete power, he will then turn Iraq away from western governments in favor of Iran. Discrediting Tariq Al-Hashemi and forcing him out of government brought Prime Minister al-Maliki one step closer to that absolute power.

©2024 Wes Martin