Iraq’s “Good Guys” Pay the Ultimate Price Too

A bomb, likely planted in his office, recently killed 35-year old Salam al-Maamuri, commander of the Iraqi police commando unit known as the Scorpions in the southern city of Hilla. Colonel al-Maamuri was considered a true public servant who treated both Shiites and Sunnis equally. It was not the first attempt on his life.

He rejected the idea of giving up after an assassination attempt and was quoted in the media saying, "You can get killed in Iraq even if you sit all day in your house. What should I do, sit around and wait to die, or try to stop the people who are killing?"

Colonel al-Maamuri fully believed that he was not there to serve Sunnis or Shiites, but to serve all Iraqis. In Iraq’s police and army, statements like this are common, but tangible actions demonstrating those beliefs are not quite as common. Many who knew him fully believed in his sincerity. So much so, that this may have been the reason he was killed. Iraqi officials suspect that the assassination may have been an inside job because the killer was able to access Colonel al-Maamuri's office. Any public official who can overcome the ethnic and religious divides in war torn Iraq is a threat to just about every faction vying for control—even his own Shiite brethren.

The death of a leader like Colonel Salam al-Maamuri who genuinely believed in a united and peaceful Iraq is a tremendous loss. However, it also reminds us that the objectives he believed in are worth fighting for and that the enemy is fighting against them. Although the war in Iraq should be managed much differently than it is today, this does not take away from the fact that security, justice, and the opportunity for prosperity and hope are still the basic desires of people all over the world.