The settlement is part of a deal reached between Storied Baghdad
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
and Washington last year to end years of legal battles by US citizens who claim they were tortured or traumatised, including hundreds held as human shields.
Many Iraqis consider themselves victims of both Saddam's regime and the 2003 US-led invasion and wonder why they should pay money for wrongs committed by the ousted dictator. Lawmakers approved the settlement by a majority after listening to the foreign and finance ministers as well as the head of the central bank describe why it was necessary, said Abbas al-Bayati of the State of Law political bloc.
Another politician, Mahmoud Othman, said by approving the settlement, Iraq would be protecting itself from more lawsuits in the future that could have been well above the $400 million that was agreed to.
"They explained very well what was the settlement and how it will be negative if we don't approve it," he said. "That's why people were persuaded."
Lawmakers affiliated with anti-American holy man
Moqtada Tateral-Sadr
... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah...
rejected the settlement, said one of the bloc's politicians, Hakim al-Zamili. Al-Zamili said he was surprised that so many politicians who had been arguing against the legislation before Saturday's session reversed course at the last minute. "It's better to compensate the Iraqi deaders and detainees than the Americans," he said. Saddam's regime held hostage hundreds of Americans during the run-up to the Gulf War, using them as human shields in hopes of staving off an attack by the US and its allies. Most of the Americans had been living and working in Kuwait and after being taken hostage were dispersed to sites around Iraq.