The Fallujah Atrocity

Peggy Noonan is right on the money about what our response should be:

"The world is used to bad news and always has been, but now and then there occurs something so brutal, so outside the normal limits of what used to be called man's inhumanity to man, that you have to look away. Then you force yourself to look and see and only one thought is possible: This must stop now. You wonder, how can we do it? And your mind says, immediately: Whatever it takes."

Little Green Footballs further asks "what the hell is wrong with us" for not already responding. Obviously, the parallel with Mogadishu demands that we act decisively and, I would argue, quickly to put a stop to this and send a counter message that we will not be cowed. But I also think that this would be an opportune time for the fledgling Iraqi government to show its mettle and take an active role in rounding up the murderers. Ms. Noonan remarks that

"It is not only coalition forces that should send this message. It is important that Iraqis themselves--pro-peace and pro-democracy Iraqis who are attempting to build a new government--come forward to denounce what happened in Fallujah. They should stand before the world and denounce the atrocity in the most serious terms."

This is fine, but they need to do more than talk. If we are going to be handing the country back over to them in three months, they damn well better be able to supress this kind of atrocity.