Would this have happened a week ago?

Unfortunately, it’s inevitable that there are a lot of old scores to pay. It happened in Europe after the end of the Nazis, and it’s been delayed in Iraq by fear of the return of Saddam, but it may be beginning now. The most challenging period may lie immediately ahead, in the struggle to prevent a full-fledged civil war, and keeping the whole country from being thrown out with the Ba’ath water.

[Update at 3 PM PST]

Here’s a more in-depth story from the WaPo.

Nima said the assassinations have centered on Hussein followers implicated in violence, not all former party members. The murders seem meticulously planned, and the perpetrators leave behind no clues, he said. With few leads, detectives have made little progress in figuring out who is killing the Baathists, but Nima said this does not trouble him.

“There’s only a limited number of them. Once they’re all dead, this will have to end,” he said.