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| Iraq |
| Many Baathists Banned From Iraq Gov’t. |
| 2003-05-16 |
| Between 15,000 and 30,000 Baath Party officials will be banned entirely from any future Iraqi government, a senior U.S. official said Friday, adding that the move aims to ``put a stake'' in the heart of Saddam Hussein's former ruling party. No, but sending the top couple hundred of the Ba'athists to Gitmo would. The official from the U.S. Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new policy would help Iraq move on from the legacy of Saddam's regime. ``The Baath Party in Iraq is finished,'' the official said. ``We mean to be sure that by this process, we will put a stake in its heart.'' The reconstruction team's purging efforts, which the official said would begin within days, are the next step in the United States' vow to eliminate Baathism from postwar Iraq. ``We are indeed serious. This is an indication of how serious we are,'' the official said. ``It will come out right.'' As many as 1.5 million of Iraq's 24 million people belonged to the party under Saddam. But only about 25,000 to 50,000 were full-fledged members — the elite First a policy to shoot some looters, now banning the Baath party members. Bremer is off to a good start. The reconstruction official said exceptions would be made in the winnowing process and also said all but 2,000 of the thousands of Baathists in question had Question is, what are they going to be doing? I think they should be making gravel from really big stones. By hand. The ORHA official said Iraq's American overseers would comb through the deposed regime's records, interview suspected Baathists' co-workers and seek testimony to make sure the government is free of the party's influence. The official acknowledged the process would prevent some of the country's most able administrators from helping rebuild the country. ``The de-Baathification will entail some inefficiencies in the running of the government,'' the official said. ``That's the price we're willing to pay in order to extirpate Baathism from Iraqi society.'' Somehow I just never connected able administrator with Baath party member. Despite the ban, some former Baathists are bound to slip through, while innocents could be denounced by co-workers seeking revenge. This week, the interim head of the Health Ministry quit after drawing protests from doctors for his ties to the Baath regime. Dr. Ali Shenan al-Janabi, an optometrist, was the ministry's No. 3 man under Saddam. The U.S.-led administration, which earlier had praised al-Janabi, said it accepted his resignation ``due to his refusal to condemn the Baath Party.'' No fortune cookie for you! Former Baathists are also fueling crime and anti-American unrest in Iraq while ``trying to reorganize and reconstruct'' the party, the official said. There's a group that should have a Gitmo getaway. Any public displays supporting Saddam have also been banned by the U.S. occupying force, and rewards are to be offered for the whereabouts of senior party officials. The order does not specifically ban gatherings of former Baathists, a move the official said could come later. Tomorrow would be okay. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Soo...Where's Raed going to work? |
| Posted by: Becky 2003-05-16 14:55:49 |