Charles Krauthammer believes that the way the hanging of Saddam Hussein went down was "beyond travesty." He goes on to argue as follows:

The whole sorry affair illustrates not just incompetence but also the ingrained intolerance and sectarianism of the Maliki government. It stands for Shiite unity and Shiite dominance above all else.

We should not be surging American troops in defense of such a government. This governing coalition -- Maliki's Dawa, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim's Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and Sadr's Mahdi Army -- seems intent on crushing the Sunnis at all costs. Maliki should be made to know that if he insists on having this sectarian war, he can well have it without us.

In some versions of the surge, however, we would actually be taking on the Mahdi Army. Such a surge would not be in the defense of the existing government. Of course, a surge that the government did not consider in its interests might well result in other problems, since we would still be counting at some point on the cooperation and participation of government forces.

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