Iraqi Leaders to Provide Inclusion for Baath Party

03/26/2007

Paul Munnis


Late Monday, the office of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki announced that he and President Jalal Talabani would introduce a modification of the law that sharply restricts former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party from holding government jobs or receiving government pensions.

This is a good move and one that is long overdue. It is one reason behind the civil-war.

There are a few problems with the solution though aside from the fact that it is pretty late in coming.

First is the problem of getting enough of the Iraq government together to form a quorum so that they can act upon the proposal. This is a difficult group to convene and they have oil revenue sharing legislation also on the table waiting for a quorum call.

The second problem is that some of these opportunities are for elective office but there is no way that an election could be held in Iraq today. A voting queue would be an invitation to a bombing attack.

Another problem is that many of the Baath Party people have left the country. They are not there to serve.

This leads me to wonder if this an offer that is a day late and a dollar short and if it will have any practical value?

Nice gesture though.