U.S. Officials Rethink Ban on Baathists

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/latimests/20040422/ts_latimes/officialsrethinkbanonbaathists&cid=2026&ncid=1480

WASHINGTON — As part of a broad effort to draw more Sunni Muslims into Iraq (news - web sites)'s power structure, U.S. officials have begun a push to make sure they are not unfairly excluding former Iraqi military officers and Baath Party officials from posts in the new government, a senior administration official said.


Coalition and Iraqi authorities have worked hard since last year's invasion to make sure that the remnants of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s governing class and military structure have been removed from top posts. But many Iraqis, U.S. military field commanders and international officials believe that the "de-Baathification" effort has gone too far, depriving the new Iraqi government of needed skills and dangerously alienating the Sunni minority.


In an interview shortly before he was named Iraq's interior minister, Samir Shakir Mahmoud said: "Everyone is aware of the risk of terrorism. But there are risks inside Iraq that are within our control and we're not managing them well. I would like to flag the de-Baathification process.


"If applied insensitively and carelessly, it increases our risk, rather than reduces it. There is a serious problem here."

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[renegade000]

1. a bit late don't ya think?

:eyes:

[NNN0LHI]

2. The Shiites will be very happy to hear this I am sure n/t

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Done before. U.S. Government hired ex-Nazis as scientists and military

advisors after WWII before the Russians could "appropriate" their talents. Enemy one day, employee the next.

[ze_dscherman]

4. Lots of former Nazis went into intelligence, too

Also, the political and judicial system of Germany pretty soon had some former Nazis back to the foremost row.