Iraq to Rehire 20,000 Hussein-Era Army Officers

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government said Thursday that it would reinstate 20,000 army officers who served under Saddam Hussein, a surprising move given that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has focused his campaign in the coming parliamentary elections around denouncing the former Baath government.



Mohammed al-Askari, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said the prime minister approved the reinstatement of the officers, which he said would begin immediately.

With just over one week before Iraq holds its first national elections since 2005, the announcement, made on state-run television, was greeted with skepticism by Mr. Maliki’s rivals.

“This is purely a means of trying to gain more votes,” said Mayson al-Damalogi, a spokesman for Iraqiya, a coalition of Sunni and secular candidates headed by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

After the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Iraqi Army was disbanded as the governing authority at the time, the American-led Coalition Provisional Authority, instituted a policy of de-Baathification. However, the move is now widely seen as helping fuel an insurgency. In 2004, there were efforts to bring many of the officers from Mr. Hussein’s time back into the army and many returned. However, thousands remained outside the fold.

Mr. Askari said that officers from Mr. Hussein’s government would be hired back immediately, making them eligible to participate in early voting scheduled for March 4. However, government officials with knowledge of the plan could not be reached for comment.

The reinstatement was especially confusing, critics said, because it came on the heels of a government decision to bar hundreds of candidates from the elections, supposedly for supporting the former government.

One of the leading members of the Iraqiya list, Saleh al-Mutlaq, a Sunni, was included on the list of barred candidates. In response, his party, the National Dialogue Front, called for a boycott of the election by Sunnis.

But at a news conference in Baghdad on Thursday, Mr. Mutlaq said that his party now wanted everyone to vote. His party’s earlier call for a boycott seemed to have largely fallen flat.

“Stand up!” Mr. Mutlaq shouted to the cameras, banging his fist on the lectern. “Stand up and support your country.”

Mr. Allawi, standing beside Mr. Mutlaq, claimed that his coalition continued to be subjected to injustices.

“Every day they are arresting people, they are chasing people,” he said. “The reasons for the attacks against us by these sick individuals is that surveys show we have a chance in this election.”

As the election draws closer, the language has grown more pointed, as have the allegations of misconduct. And as politicians exchange bitter barbs, the backdrop for the election remains violence.

There were scattered attacks around Iraq on Thursday, with the most unrest in the ethnically mixed northern city of Mosul.

The police found the body of a woman whose head had been cut off in the street on Thursday morning. There were several drive-by shootings and other attacks as well that left four people dead and two others wounded.

In recent weeks, attacks on Christians in Mosul have also increased. At least eight Christians there have been murdered in less than two weeks.

“The government condemns the attacks on Christians, one of our people, and has decided to form a commission of inquiry,” said Ali al-Dabagh, a government spokesman.

About 20,000 Christians live in Mosul. Many fled the region after being singled out by militants in 2008.

A version of this article appeared in print on February 26, 2010, on page A8 of the New York edition.

Source: NY Times, February 25, 2010
By MARC SANTORA

Views: 66

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

Comment by TheLasersShadow on February 26, 2010 at 9:10am
Why is this an issue? They should have done that years ago. Put the shit back together and get the hell OUT!!

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Less Prone favorited tjdavis's video
3 hours ago
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's video
3 hours ago
Less Prone posted photos
3 hours ago
tjdavis posted a video

Zero Days - Official Trailer

Streaming now on @DocPlay: https://www.docplay.com/shows/day-zeroFrom Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney (Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of...
6 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Is This Story True and Have their Identities Been Changed?

(Perhaps it’s the only way it can be told) Chapter 1Roy reached across the aisle of the DC-3 as it…See More
12 hours ago
Doc Vega posted photos
13 hours ago
Sandy posted videos
yesterday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
yesterday
cheeki kea posted a photo
yesterday
cheeki kea favorited Doc Vega's blog post A Grain of Hope
yesterday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Saturday
Doc Vega's 7 blog posts were featured
Saturday
tjdavis's blog post was featured
Saturday
Burbia's blog post was featured

Mystery illness strikes Russia with fever, blood symptoms, and no cure in sight.

I guess releasing this bio-weapon upon Israeli neighbors would be hitting too close to home. I…See More
Saturday
Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's photo
Thumbnail

main-qimg-357a10f7111dcf87a3cc6e2afad83855

"Islam is only a phase preceding a total Talmudic rule and a new world religion."
Saturday
Less Prone commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

WWRJD

"I doubt a d-rat Jesus would be better. Much worse. “Politicians are the lowest form of life…"
Saturday
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's photo
Saturday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Friday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

Lost History

"The Tartar wall - aka The Great Wall of China is hundreds of years old and was up and running in…"
Friday
cheeki kea posted a photo
Friday

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted