In search of national reconciliation Baghdad offers jobs to former Saddam officials
Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The Iraqi government is trying to bring former Baa’thists and officials from Saddam’s regime back into the fold after they were forced to flee or sent packing when the dictator fell in 2003. In a general effort towards ‘national reconciliation’ Iraq has asked Syria to get former Baa’thists living in its territory to take part in talks to this effect. The demand was made by Iraqi Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi during a recent visit to Damascus, local papers report.
There are about 300 senior former army officers in Syria some of whom held influential positions in the Baa’th Party and the armed forces.
Under a reconciliation plan pursued by the current Iraqi government, former Baa’thists as well as senior officers who served in the former army would be reintegrated or allowed to retire on a state pension.
Iraq is in need of former intelligence and security personnel, National Security Minister Shirwan al-Waili said.
In his opinion the decision to dismantle the security apparatus that existed under former leader Saddam Hussein was wrong.
“Not everyone in the security services had blood on their hands. Many were merely professional people who could have helped a great deal,” the minister noted.
Many analysts share this view but are more sceptical about the plan’s potential for success. For many of them it is already too late to draw them into a political process involving the current government. In 2003 thousands of military and intelligence professionals, who were also their families’ main breadwinners, found themselves out of a job, their skills unused, forced to recycle themselves, i.e. join the insurgents and the terrorist ranks.
When Saddam fell, the Americans disbanded 18 institutions among them the army, the Ba’ath party, the security apparatus, including the police and the Republican Guards, which employed altogether 200,000 people.
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