No rule of law in Iraq.

The degree of lawlessness to which Iraq has descended is summed up by today’s statement from President Vladimir Putin that Russian special forces will track down and kill the kidnappers who executed 4 Russian diplomats in Iraq.

According to Pravda, Putin’s statement did not specify what special forces might be involved. Agents of the Foreign Intelligence Service and the Federal Security Service - the main successor to the KGB - could be considered special forces. The Russian army has not historically employed specialist units equivalent to Britain’s SAS or the American Delta Force.

Obviously the killings are horrific and regrettable, but hang on. Isn’t Iraq supposed to be a sovereign state with its own elected government? On what legal basis will the Russians be able to send troops into Iraq to carry out vigilante killings? It will be interesting to see whether the British government protests against the KGB being deployed in iraq to murder people.