|
|
|
|||||
Archive:
| |||||
It has urged Maliki to pass laws on sharing oil revenues and easing restrictions on former members of Saddam's Ba'ath party serving in the army or civil service. But Maliki has lost nearly half his cabinet since April: the Accordance Front and Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's movement have pulled out their ministers, and ministers loyal to former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi are boycotting meetings. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Coalitions, real and imaginary Aug 11, 2007
As freelance reporter Steven Vincent chronicled before he was murdered in Basra in August 2005, the militias instituted a Khomeinist regime in the city, replete with death squads, generally comprised of off-duty policemen, which executed hundreds of civilians they accused of ties to the Ba'ath Party; the brutalization of women caught unveiled in public; the takeover of Basra's university and hospitals; and the extortion of businessmen in mafia-like protection rackets ... As freelance reporter... (Townhall.com)
Turks take no delight in Maliki visit Aug 10, 2007
The leaders of Iraq and Syria wanted Nasser to share power with the Ba'ath Party. Nasser refused, unable to forget that after supporting him in 1958, the Ba'athists were among the first to. (Asia Times Online)
Five more ministers quit Iraq's Cabinet Aug 7, 2007
They cited as reasons for their action a lack of progress on issues such as the status of Iraqi detainees, the repatriation of displaced Iraqis, and the return of former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party to government jobs. "This act is not an escalation but it is an objection to what the government is doing," Alia Nusaiyef Jasim, a legislator in Allawi's secular Shi'ite al-Iraqiyah bloc, told the Al-Jazeera television network. (Boston Globe)
COLUMN: To understand Iraq's future, learn its past Aug 4, 2007
Although the Ba'ath party was ostensibly focused on Arab nationalism and socialism, the Syrian and Iraqi regimes were corrupt dictatorships, with wealth and power concentrated in a few key families. In 1979, Ba'athist Saddam Hussein took control of Iraq and annihilated his rivals. (U-Wire.com)
The way to go in Iraq Jul 19, 2007
These steps include an oil-revenue-sharing law (to ensure that the oil-poor Sunni regions get their share of revenue); holding provincial elections (the Sunnis boycotted the January 2005 provincial and parliamentary elections, leaving them underrepresented even in Sunni-majority provinces); revising Iraq's constitution (the Sunnis want a more centralized state); revising the ban on public-sector employment of former Ba'athists (Sunnis dominated the upper ranks of the Ba'ath Party and of the... (Asia Times Online)
Read Seumas Milne's full report on the insurgents Jul 19, 2007
Even Saddam's revamped Ba'ath party - which now plays what is regarded as a reduced role in the resistance - is an enthusiast for fully competitive elections. But what if the US doesn't start to withdraw from Iraq next year, as the resistance groups expect, or merely withdraws to the huge military bases it has built around Iraq to intervene as and when it sees fit. (Guardian Unlimited)
Bush concedes US 'tired of war' Jul 13, 2007
Iraqis, the report said, had made insufficient progress in reversing a ban on former Ba'ath party members in government agencies. The Iraqi government had also not ensured equitable distribution of oil revenues. (MSNBC -- Business)
Bush holds strong on Iraq despite damning report Jul 13, 2007
The government has failed to ease conditions for former members of the Ba'ath party; devise an equitable revenue-sharing formula for Iraq's oil resources, or pave the way for local elections. The report attributed such failures to last year's eruption of sectarian violence. (Guardian Unlimited)
Leader: A president in denial Jul 13, 2007
Yesterday's report said that there was still no law to share oil revenue, no law to make it easier for former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party to get government jobs, and no law on disarming Shia militias - all measures vital for reconciliation with the minority Sunnis. If the White House is reluctant to express anything less than full support for the multi-party government of the Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, the US intelligence community has felt less constrained to express its... (Guardian Unlimited)
Iraq 'surge' gets mixed report Jul 12, 2007
The government of the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, has failed to make headway on a de-Ba'athification law that would make former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party eligible for government jobs. Full coverage. (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
Growing Republican revolt puts Bush under pressure in Iraq Jul 10, 2007
The political benchmarks include passage of legislation to share Iraq's oil revenue, constitutional changes to give more power to Sunni Muslims, and measures to restore rights to Iraqis who were members of the Ba'ath party during Saddam Hussein's deposed regime. Further, the U.S. has set targets for increased Iraqi participation in securing Baghdad and support American combat operations. (National Post)
Sectarian row stalls Iraq oil bill Jul 5, 2007
The US is pressing the Maliki government to pass other legislation paving the way for provincial elections by the end of the year, and for the return of some members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party to government. But time is short. (Guardian Unlimited)
Bombing kills 14 near Shi'ite shrine Jun 28, 2007
Other "benchmark" bills would amend the constitution, allow many former members of Hussein's Ba'ath party to get back government jobs, and arrange new elections for provincial posts. All those measures have stalled because of political divisions within the Cabinet and parliament. (Boston Globe)
Great games and famous victories Jun 26, 2007
" "They're our boys bought and paid for, but you always gotta remember that these people can't be trusted," said Archie Roosevelt, Kermit's cousin and a CIA deputy for the Middle East in the later 1960s. His weary exasperation with the supposedly innate Arab traits of treachery and corruptibility - he was speaking of Iraqi Ba'ath Party officers on his payroll in the 1963 and 1968 Baghdad coups - caught an American official mood extending from the 1940s to 2007, from Iraq to Vietnam to... (Asia Times Online)
Former officer sentenced for kickbacks Jun 26, 2007
Hopfengardner's role was to recommend that the Coalition Provisional Authority fund projects to demolish the Ba'ath Party headquarters, rebuild a police academy and construct various other facilities. Bloom, who controlled companies in Iraq and Romania, bid on projects using dummy corporations and Stein ensured that one of the firms was awarded the contract, according to court documents. (Yahoo News -- Politics)
US troops sweep violent neighborhoods Jun 23, 2007
The militants were welcomed by many of Saddam Hussein's former Ba'ath party members. The shifting population balance only increased tension between local Sunni tribal leaders and the Shi'ite-dominated federal government in Baghdad. (Boston Globe)
Nazek al-Malaika, at 85; she altered style of Arabic poetry Jun 22, 2007
Ms. Malaika left Iraq in 1970, two years after Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party came to power. Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company. (Boston Globe)
Morris: Gates pt. 1 Jun 22, 2007
In Iraq, a CIA-supported corrupt monarchy, inherited from the British, stifled democratic stirrings in the 1950s; then, CIA-instigated Ba'ath Party coups in 1963, and again in 1968, killed reformers and reforms (along with any hopes of sectarian equity), and led to Saddam Hussein's tribal-clan despotism. . (Zmag.org)
Video calls 3 abducted GIs dead Jun 5, 2007 A day in the life of a security guard in Iraq May 31, 2007 With one-name ballot, Syrians vote May 28, 2007 Assad the only choice in Syria referendum May 28, 2007 With critics isolated, Syrian leader poised to win a second term May 27, 2007 Iraq's Sadrists follow Hezbollah's path May 26, 2007 The 'dirty thieves' of Sadr City May 16, 2007 Implausible benchmarks (Bruce Fein) May 16, 2007 Iraqi backs 'benchmark' action (David R. Sands) May 16, 2007 McConnell criticizes Iraqi government May 14, 2007 Local Marine recruiter's unit helped in dramatic rescue May 13, 2007 Syria sets condition for Hariri tribunal May 11, 2007 Cheney presses Iraqis to show gains May 10, 2007 US and Iranian officials meet briefly at summit May 5, 2007 What is Iraq giving back? May 5, 2007 Lawmakers bristle, but may cancel break May 4, 2007 Rice breaks the ice with Syria, but not Iran May 4, 2007 Blair attacked over Iraq 'errors' May 3, 2007 Iraq summit opens in Egypt May 3, 2007 Hoon admits fatal errors May 2, 2007 House passes bill ordering troop pullout Apr 26, 2007 The revenge of the Ba'athists Apr 24, 2007 Basra Splits Between Warring Shias Apr 24, 2007 ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE: More brains than judgment Apr 24, 2007 Cynical Syrians Prepare To Vote Apr 22, 2007 Iraq native gives perspective on war Apr 21, 2007 Sunni militants name al Qaeda chief 'minister of war' Apr 20, 2007 Shi'ite bloc threatens to quit government Apr 16, 2007 Official calls for an about-face in U.S. war policy (David R. Sands) Apr 10, 2007 Iraq insider lists US failures in 500 pages Apr 9, 2007 Painful debate centered on Hussein's monuments Apr 8, 2007 IRAQ: Relocation of Arabs from Kirkuk could trigger violence Apr 4, 2007 Full Story from Massachusetts Daily Collegian Apr 3, 2007 US steps up campaign against Syrian government Mar 31, 2007 Party time in Baghdad's war zone Mar 30, 2007 Saddam regime to get jobs back Mar 28, 2007 Outgoing envoy says US losing patience with Iraq Mar 27, 2007 US envoy warns Iraqis Mar 27, 2007 Baghdad blast shakes UN chief Mar 22, 2007 Bush asks for patience as Iraq war enters its 5th year Mar 20, 2007 Iraqi Sunnis plan lobbying operation in Washington Mar 18, 2007 Inside Iraq Presenter's view at the sharp end Mar 17, 2007 Halabja: The Town That Lost Everything Full Story Mar 16, 2007 Saddams judge seeks political asylum in UK Mar 12, 2007 DoD News Briefing with Maj. Gen. Mixon from Iraq Mar 11, 2007 Bush lauds 'surge' results Mar 7, 2007 - Azzam Tamimi Mar 7, 2007 Arab foreign ministers say Iraq must defuse violence Mar 5, 2007 Beyond competence Feb 27, 2007 Real news behind 'the surge' Feb 23, 2007 Mission imperial Feb 19, 2007 Morris: Rumsfeld 1 Feb 15, 2007 The mother of all genocides Feb 14, 2007 Black Hawks down in Iraq quagmire Feb 13, 2007 Embassy Row (James Morrison) Feb 9, 2007 [Ian Bremmer]Is the leader of the United States right? Feb 8, 2007 US changes tactics after Iraq copter attacks Feb 5, 2007 JIM SAXTON: Beneficiaries of a pullout Feb 5, 2007 Iraq halts Syria flights, closes Iran border Feb 1, 2007 Trying to Cool Beirut's Sectarian Rage Jan 27, 2007 Serbian ultranationalists riding high after vote Jan 25, 2007 'Chemical Ali" defiant in court Jan 24, 2007 Palestinians told leave or risk death (Aqeel Hussein) Jan 24, 2007 Bush's history lesson Jan 21, 2007 Baghdad hit by six car bombs Jan 19, 2007
Gen. Sanchez, 56, called the situation in Iraq bleak and blamed it on "the abysmal performance in the early stages and the transition of sovereignty." Gen. Sanchez took command in the summer of 2003 and was in the middle of some of the most momentous U.S. decisions of the war, among them the dissolution of the Iraqi army and barring millions of Ba'ath Party members from government jobs: two actions seen as triggering the insurgency. . (Washington Times, DC)
Bush presses Talabani on benchmarks (Jon Ward) Jun 1, 2007
The Iraqi government, however, is divided among Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish factions, and has not enacted an oil-revenue-sharing law or a law allowing former Ba'ath Party members to return to work, and has not made progress on establishing provincial elections. "I don't say that everything is OK. ... No, we have problems," Mr. Talabani said. (Washington Times)
We live in a five-bedroom villa in Baghdad, it's rented from a former Ba'ath party member and costs about $15,000 (7,600) a month. It's probably the most expensive real estate in the world. (Guardian Unlimited)
At a congress of Assad's Ba'ath Party in 2005, delegates endorsed the idea of independent political parties and relaxing emergency laws in place since 1963 ... "We called for the amendment . . . so that nominations could not be restricted to the Ba'ath Party, and give a chance to other candidates to run for the presidency," Abdul-Azim said. (Boston Globe)
No one was surprised that celebrations were taking place before a single ballot was cast; President Assad was, after all, the only candidate nominated by the ruling Ba'ath party ... Foreign diplomats admit that their understanding of the opaque relations between the Assad family, the Ba'ath party and the security services is anecdotal and limited. (Guardian Unlimited)
Today's Globe Local Politics Opinion Magazine Education NECN Special reports Obituaries. DAMASCUS -- Inside the tent, the trappings of a modern election campaign were on display: jingles playing, flags waving, confetti coating the floor, and posters of President Bashar al-Assad hanging near the stage. (Boston Globe)
Alarmed by the Shi'ite uprising that erupted in the aftermath of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the Iraqi regime began a process of co-opting and privileging Shi'ite tribes - a significant ideological retreat for the ruling Ba'ath Party, which had spent the previous two decades curtailing their influence. 1. (Asia Times Online)
"During Saddam they were all forced to enroll in the Ba'ath Party. That was the only way to get a job," says a teacher. "Almost all of them were in high positions." Immediately after the invasion and the beginning of the occupation, many left for Syria or Yemen. (Asia Times Online)
The administration is also championing a rollback of the purge of Saddam's reviled Ba'ath party members to entice Sunnis into peaceful politics. But relaxing the purge is not politically viable. (Washington Times, DC)
Other U.S. benchmarks for the al-Maliki government include holding new provincial elections and amending the near-blanket ban on government and military posts for former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party. Showing the sensitivity in Baghdad to the U.S. debate, both Mr. Salih and Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie said in Washington in recent days that the Iraqi parliament will cut short a planned two-month recess scheduled to begin in July and may cancel it altogether. (Washington Times, DC)
"They've not been able do anything they promised on the political side," Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said on CNN's "Late Edition." He cited Iraq's failure to pass an oil revenue bill, hold local elections, and dismantle the former Ba'ath Party. (Reuters). (Boston Globe)
March 31-May 1 in An Nasiriyah On the morning of April 1, (the 15th) conducted two direct action raids on suspected Ba'ath Party officials in support of operations to rescue American POW Lynch. After clearing the town of Saddam's regular forces, a command center was set up at a local university, located on the bank of the Euphrates River. (Brenham Banner, TX)
Assad made the comments in a speech to parliament, where his ruling Ba'ath Party nominated him for a second seven-year term in office ... The Ba'ath Party announced to parliament in a letter that it had nominated Assad for a second term. (Boston Globe)
The Iraqi government has made little progress on benchmark goals established by the Bush administration, including allowing some former members of the once-ruling Ba'ath party, who were driven from the government en masse after the 2003 invasion by US-led coalition forces, to return to their jobs. Their dismissal is widely seen as fueling the insurgency and a sense of isolation and powerlessness among Sunnis. (Boston Globe -- World)
They demand that Maliki enact reforms to give Sunni Arabs a greater role -- including amending the constitution, bringing more Sunnis into the military and government, and ending the purge of former members of Saddam Hussein's ousted Sunni-led Ba'ath party. Material from the Associated Press was included in this report. (Boston Globe -- World)
Two of the most significant, and, in theory at least, immediately achievable reforms are: a law to provide equitable development and distribution of Iraq's oil wealth, mostly in the Shi'ite and Kurdish regions, and a law to allow more former Ba'ath Party members to participate in government. The hypothesis is that legislative reforms such as these will inspire Sunni and Shi'ite factions now seeking to advance their interests through violence to give up violence and advance their interests... (Washington Times, DC)
A recess, which would start in July, may leave several crucial pieces of US-supported legislation unfinished, including a bill for distributing oil revenue and plans to reverse measures that barred former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party from holding certain jobs and government office. Criticism of the planned vacation erupted after President Bush vetoed legislation to continue funding the war, which would also have ordered US troops to begin leaving Iraq by Oct. 1. (Boston Globe)
Much of it is about economics, investment and reconstruction, but it includes a revenue-sharing oil law, legislation allowing members of the banned Ba'ath party back into public life, and setting a date for provincial elections. It is hoped that these "benchmarks" will draw Sunnis away from the insurgency and back into politics. (Guardian Unlimited)
" Mr Hoon said the sacking of so many Iraqis in possession of weapons and military training had been catastrophic, allowing "Saddam's people to link up with al-Qaeda and to link up ultimately with Sunni insurgents" in fomenting suicide attacks and sectarian violence. Regret The dismantling of several ministries and removal from office of all state employees with Ba'ath party membership was also an error, Mr Hoon added. Mr Hoon also expressed regret over the government's claim in the run-up to... (BBC News)
But parts of the compact make good sense: the 42-page document includes a revenue-sharing oil law, a law to allow members of the now banned Ba'ath party back into public life, and an elections law that will set a date for provincial polls; the hope is that these "benchmarks" will help promote reconciliation by drawing Sunnis away from the insurgency and back into politics. The broader purpose of the conference is to talk about what is at stake, for Iraq and the region, on the clear if unspoken... (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
this has grown".The dismantling of several ministries and removal from office of all state employees with Ba'ath party membership was also an error, Mr Hoon says.The decision is widely seen to have paralysed the country's infrastructure. "I think we probably saw it in a different way [to the US. I think we felt that a lot of the Ba'ath people were first and foremost local government people, and first and foremost civil servants - they weren't fanatical supporters of Saddam. (Guardian Unlimited)
The bill also would establish benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet: create a program to disarm militias, reduce sectarian violence, ease rules that purged the government of all former Ba'ath Party members, and enact a law on sharing oil revenue. Unless the Bush administration determines by July 1 that those benchmarks are being met, troops would begin coming home immediately, with a goal of completing those withdrawals by the end of the year. (Boston Globe)
Many prominent Iraqi Sunni families were traditional Ba'athists, yet all of them were excluded from the new Iraq because under the new constitution, the Ba'ath Party was coined a "terrorist" organization. This has been one of the major obstacles to reconciliation between Sunnis and Shi'ites on one front, and Sunnis and Maliki on another. (Asia Times Online)
"They pretend that they are fighting terror, but they are cooperating with Iranian terror in our cities," Ahmed, a member of the Ba'ath Party in Basra told IPS. "There are daily assassinations against us and other brothers who do not support the occupation, and the occupation forces are happy with that.". Several Basra residents told IPS they expect the situation in the south to get worse, and the divisions between the Shia political parties to widen. (Ocnus.net)
Three months before the invasion of Iraq, Mr. Wolfowitz dismissed the need to preserve Saddam Hussein's army and his Ba'ath Party. "If we go in," he said, "it will be like France in 1944." In other words, 25 million Iraqis will be waiting to greet their American liberators -- and U.S. troops could be home by Christmas. (Washington Times)
Syrians, or rather a few Syrians if assumptions are accurate, will go to the polls beginning Sunday to choose from almost 10,000 candidates for 250 parliamentary seats, of which 167 are already guaranteed for the ruling Ba'ath party and its allies. This occurs amid a noticeable lack of public enthusiasm for the 2-day elections, drawing campaigns by independent, rich businessmen who in reality can do nothing to change government policy. (CBS News)
He recalled censored school history lessons that depicted views favoring the nation and the ruling Ba'ath party ... The Ba'ath party took control in a 1968 coup. (Daily Triplicate)
He denounced Iraq's rulers for the past decades -- including Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party and the present government -- saying they "spread corruption and ruined the country and its people, until God helped the mujahedeen bring torture upon them." "Now the Islamic State emerges as a state for Islam and the mujahedeen," he said. He then listed a 10-member "Cabinet," including Abu Hamza al-Muhajer as "war minister." Al-Muhajer is the name of the person announced as the successor of Abu Musab... (Washington Times)
They include measures to ensure fair distribution of oil wealth and to restore jobs to ostracized officials of Hussein's former ruling Ba'ath Party. As long as violence continues to preoccupy the government, there seems little chance that politicians will focus on such legislation. (Boston Globe)
Policies such as disbanding the Iraqi army and purging even lower-level members of Saddam's ruling Ba'ath Party from the new administration only contributed to the chaos. He said U.S. priorities such as a new Iraqi oil revenue law and a partial pardon for some former Ba'athists will make little impact if the more basic divisions among the country's warring factions are not addressed. (Washington Times)
Purging tens of thousands of members of Hussein's Ba'ath party -- from government, school faculties, and elsewhere -- left Iraq short on experienced hands at a crucial time. An order consolidating decentralized bank accounts at the Finance Ministry bogged down operations of Iraq's many state-owned enterprises. (Boston Globe)
At the center of the debate here is a government body called the Committee to Remove the Remains of the Ba'ath Party and to Consider Building New Monuments and Murals, which was formed in 2005 and has a list of more than 100 artifacts from Hussein's era. The committee -- now a 10-member panel of Shi'ites, Sunnis, and Kurds appointed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki -- has already removed two items: a bronze mural in the Alawi neighborhood depicting the history of the Ba'ath Party and a monument... (Boston Globe)
Those who moved to Kirkuk from other parts of Iraq after July 1968, when Saddam's Ba'ath party took over, would be paid about US $15,000 and given land in their hometowns, if they returned, according to officials. "Forms will be distributed soon to the Arab residents of Kirkuk to determine who had been part of Saddam's Arabisation campaign," al-Shibli added, without giving specific details on the initiative. (AlertNet)
A succession of political and military unrest ensued until 1968 when the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party gained control of the region, and Saddam Hussein rose to power. Hussein's first interaction with the United States' government was the year after he joined the Ba'ath Party in 1959. (U-Wire.com)
Almost three-quarters of the seats in parliament are set aside for members of the Ba'ath Party, which has ruled Syria since a 1963 coup, and its allies. New campaign spending rules appear designed to undercut the few truly independent candidates. (Monterey County Herald)
Scores of coalition staffers, including women who had had the foresight to pack hotpants and 10-centimetre heels, danced on an illuminated Ba'ath party star embedded in the floor. The atmosphere was thick with sexual tension. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Law reaches out to sacked Ba'ath party members Hopes new bill will help to quell Sunni insurgency ... Former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party who lost their jobs in the wake of the 2003 invasion will be allowed to take up posts in the government and security forces under a new law designed to foster reconciliation between Iraq's Shia and Sunni Arabs ... The bill covers Ba'ath party members who served in Saddam's civil service and military organisations. (Guardian Unlimited)
Khalilzad spent his last months here pressing Iraq's leaders to disband militias, set a date for local elections, revise the laws that removed ranking members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party from the civil service, and change the constitution to make it acceptable to all ethnic and religious groups. Khalilzad declined to provide details of his contacts with Iraqi insurgent groups, citing Al Qaeda's attempts to derail the process. (Boston Globe)
Key to this, he said, was amending the constitution to make it more acceptable to the Sunnis, dismantling the militias, and a controversial new de-Ba'athification law, which aims to encourage former low-ranking Ba'ath party members to join the political process. American and Iraqi officials were also trying to convince so-called "reconcilable insurgents" to unite against al-Qaida in Iraq and other Islamist militant groups. (Guardian Unlimited)
Members of the former president's Ba'ath party did, however, take part, he added. Mr al-Muttalibi said negotiations were deadlocked over the insurgent groups' insistence that they would lay down their arms only when a timetable for the withdrawal of US-led troops in Iraq was announced. (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
What he didn't say was that Iraq missed the Dec. 31 target date to enact the oil law, as well as laws establishing provincial elections and reversing measures that have excluded many Sunnis from jobs and government positions because they belonged to Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party. The United States is also pushing for constitutional amendments to remove articles that the Sunnis believe discriminate in favor of the Shi'ites and Kurds. (Boston Globe)
The US-led occupation kicked many top Sunnis from Hussein's Ba'ath Party out of the civil service and dissolved the Sunni-dominated army. Anger at the occupation fueled a Sunni-led insurgency that continues today. (Boston Globe)
Dismantling the Iraqi army, getting rid of the Ba'ath party infrastructure were all errors which have added to today's chaos. He was booted out of the job after falling out with his bosses. (Sky News)
So much pain and suffering at the hands of the Ba'ath Party and its obscene leader Saddam Hussein, so many tortured and murdered and yet it seems there's no time or opportunity to revisit the crimes. It's as if the traumas of the present already outweigh those of the past. (Sky News)
Raouf Abdul Rahman is understood to be seeking sanctuary in the UK after he and his family received death threats from insurgents linked to the former ruling Ba'ath Party. The judge, a Kurd, took control of Saddam's trial in Baghdad last year to end a series of interruptions by defendants and political speeches which had reduced the legal process to chaos and extended the hearing by months. (The Herald)
Is this, you know, Ba'ath Party, Sunni -- homegrown Sunni insurgency. Who's behind it. (DOD DefenseLINK -- News)
Those pledges include allowing members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party who are barred from many jobs to be employed by the government, working on a constitutional review process, and setting a date for provincial elections. Page 1 of 2. (Washington Times)
It was secular and nationalist, and the ruling Ba'ath party was believed to have more Shias in its ranks than Sunnis. Thirty-two of the 52 names on the US most-wanted list were Shias, and Saddam punished whoever rose against his regime, irrespective of religion or ethnicity. (Guardian Unlimited)
The ministers also called for revoking an Iraqi law that dismissed senior members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party from the government and urged the government to pass a law that specifically says Iraqis should be treated equally based on their citizenship, not their religion or ethnicity. In addition, they called on the Iraqi government to disband Shi'ite militias, end armed demonstrations, and decide on a specific time frame for the withdrawal of foreign troops. (Boston Globe)
"Who would we put in power? What kind of government would we have? Would it be a Sunni government, a Shia government, a Kurdish government? Would it be secular along the lines of the Ba'ath Party? Would it be fundamentalist Islamic? I do not think the United States wants to have U.S. military forces accept casualties and accept the responsibility of trying to govern Iraq. I think it makes no sense at all."Cheney was not alone in such views. That sharp thinking was shared among the principal... (Fresno Bee -- Opinion)
Maliki's "new security plan" includes a reformed "de-Ba'athification" program designed to permit former members of the Ba'ath Party, on an individual basis, to integrate into the new, democratic Iraq. Former Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi advocated a similar program in 2004, but Mr. Allawi's government was appointed, not elected. (Washington Times, DC)
Scores of CPA staffers, including women who had had the foresight to pack hot pants and four-inch heels, danced on an illuminated Ba'ath party star embedded in the floor. The atmosphere was thick with sexual tension. (Guardian Unlimited)
It was in 1963, during Don Rumsfeld's first months in Congress, that the Iraqi Ba'ath Party -- since 1959 recruited, funded, marshaled and directed by the CIA, and trailing a twenty-six-year-old Tikriti street thug named Saddam Hussein (himself a CIA-paid assassin) along with lists of hundreds of left-leaning Iraqi political figures and professionals to be murdered after the coup -- seized power in Baghdad. . (Zmag.org)
A single unifying political system collapsed in both cases, Ba'ath Party rule in Iraq and communism in Yugoslavia. Without the iron rule of Tito, Yugoslavia dissolved. (Asia Times Online)
In December, Khudair al-Murshidi, a spokesman for Iraq's Ba'ath Party, announced that Sunni insurgents had received shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, adding that "we are going to surprise them", in a reference to US forces. Four of the helicopters crashed in Sunni areas, with another shot down during fighting between the US and Iraqi armies and cultists in the Shi'ite stronghold city of Najaf in southern Iraq. (Asia Times Online)
Ahmed Aboul Gheit urged the United States to dismantle the Shi'ite and Sunni militias and reinstate many of the political and military leaders who were dismissed because they were members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party. "You must dismantle the militias or forget about Iraq," he told foreign editor David W. Jones and other reporters at a breakfast meeting at the Willard InterContinental hotel. (Washington Times, DC)
Sunnis must be persuaded that neither their minority status nor former membership in Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party will exclude them from political and economic life. But Sunnis and Shiite are now killing one another in increasing numbers, and the new aggressiveness of U.S. forces will make compromise all but impossible. (Korea Herald, Korea)
In December, a spokesman for Saddam Hussein's ousted Ba'ath Party, Khudair al-Murshidi, said in Damascus that Sunni insurgents had received shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles, and "we are going to surprise them," meaning US forces. Murshidi did not say when or how the missiles were obtained. (Boston Globe -- World)
Although that conflict is not what we originally intended when we decided to go into Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein and his ruling Ba'ath Party from power, it is where we find ourselves today. Thus, our mission in Iraq -- like in many conflicts -- has shifted. (Washington Times)
Syria is believed to be harboring former Ba'ath Party officials who support the Sunni insurgency and has been accused of allowing foreign fighters to slip across its border with Iraq. And US officials have complained that Iran smuggles weapons to Shi'ite extremists who have killed Americans and provides Shi'ite militia with training and support. (Boston Globe)
That was implicitly acknowledged to TIME by Qassem Hashem, an opposition parliamentarian and member of the Lebanese branch of the Ba'ath Party. "The opposition is sensitive to the political tensions in Lebanon and has decided to stop its actions to give time for international and Arab mediation," he said. (Time.com)
BELGRADE, Serbia -- The party that won the most votes in Serbia's elections is staunchly anti-Western, once counted Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party among its political and financial backers, and wants to go to war over the breakaway province of Kosovo. Many Western analysts had feared that the fiercely nationalist Serbian Radical Party, whose leader is currently on trial for alleged war crimes in The Hague, would be the biggest winner of this weekend's parliamentary vote. (Boston Globe)
" Sabir al-Duri, a former military intelligence chief, also refused to make a statement. The judge then switched off microphones in the court amid heated discussions with the two defendants. Anfal campaign Al-Majid and five other top officials of the former regime are being tried for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity over the deaths of 182,000 Kurds during the 1988 Anfal campaign. The accused say the campaign was a vital counter-insurgency operation against Kurdish guerrillas who... (Aljazeera.Net)
Hundreds of Iraqis were forced to leave their homes to make way for the migrants, many of whom joined the ruling Ba'ath Party. Sheik Mahmoud al-Hassani, a spokesman for the Mahdi Army, said the Palestinians had brought their suffering on themselves. (Washington Times)
US troops in Iraq are fighting Sunnis, Shi'ites, Iranians, remnants of the Ba'ath Party, and a few others. In Algeria, there were splits in the Muslim population at first, but as the war wore on the resistance coalesced around the FLN, protected by a sanctuary in Tunisia. (Boston Globe -- Editorial)
Sheikh Majeed al-Gaood, who has ties with the former regime's army generals and officers, said the pledge came from Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, one of the most senior members of the Ba'ath party still at large. Al-Maliki has asked for more US weapons [AFP. (Aljazeera.Net)
Back to General News News
©1998-2009 SurfWax, Inc.
All rights reserved. Patents pending.
Copyright SurfWax, Inc. 2009 |