Quote Originally Posted by Schmedlap View Post
Not sure that I agree or disagree - just curious what you mean.

How would you have expected the GoI to act? These are individuals whom Iran wants done away with - something that the GoI might prefer to do for them, as a political gesture to smooth relations.
This doesn’t only benefit the Iranians. These people believe in just about every failed theory of governance that has been attempted in the 20th century. They're not reasonable people and to presume that they could be somehow integrated into Iraqi society isn't a manageable expectation.

This was an internal policing action by a sovereign nation, not a military opeartion - and that's what's so surprising.

But these are also individuals who have some protected status under humanitarian law, so dumping them in a mass grave or locking them up concentration-camp-style are not options as long as US military, diplomats, NGOs, and western media are looking over their shoulders.
Its also not an either/or situation. The GoI could do what they usually do with internal groups that disagree with them... round up the leaders and toss them into prisons never to reappear again. Just the fact that they used nonlethal methods to deal with this shows a lot of forethought and control.

Not a lot of people are going to criticize the action the Iraqis took because there’s nothing there to criticize. That's nothing short of a miracle considering how sensitive this situiation is.