The Americans are more interested in being nice and all about human rights and free speech and stuff. We have our own Law and court systems which we can use but the CPA won't allow us to. They are being too lenient and forgiving on our expence. If you think that is what is required to build a successful democracy then you're too deluded. You don't know the first thing about the Iraqi society.I hope that Mr. Bremer and company are working to allow the Iraqis to make these decisions themselves. Iraqis need to decide how justice should work in Iraq.
It could easily be "ugly" according to our models of democratic societies. Internment, repression and summary executions are more than likely going to be part of the scene in Iraq as old scores are settled and the unreconstructable are put out of business.
What the US (and the rest of the west) needs to do is not so much turn a blind eye as try to encourage greater openness and transparency in Iraqi justice as society settles down. It's almost a cliche now, but rather than looking at today's US and western Europe as models, it would be better to look at those western European and east Asian countries that today are thriving, just societies, but in the aftermath of World War II were just beginning the struggle to make that happen.
