She's making a difference in Iraq Jan 23, 2008
They were given an ultimatum: either join the Ba'ath Party or else suffer the consequences. They chose to "suffer the consequences" and moved to London in 1981, with 20-year-old Maysoun. (Asia Times Online)
Iraq invasion Jan 22, 2008
He used to be the manager of a supermarket in the neighbouring town of Ramadi, and was not a Ba'ath party member, he said. He came from the Obeidi tribe, which had had constant problems with Saddam, and he was glad the Americans had toppled him. (Guardian Unlimited)
Rangel: Only Progress in Iraq Is to 'Get the Hell Out!' Jan 21, 2008
Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) told Cybercast News Service Thursday that he does not consider legislation passed last Saturday by the Iraqi Parliament, which permits former members of Saddam's Ba'ath Party to reclaim government jobs, a sign of political progress. "The only thing that is progress is to get the hell out of there," said Rangel. (CNSnews.com)
Iraq's economic future looks bright, says IMF Jan 18, 2008
Last week the Baghdad government passed a law allowing former low-ranking members of the Ba'ath party to reclaim government posts and pensions. But key cabinet posts have been empty since six Sunni ministers quit prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's government last August to protest against his perceived Shia bias. (Guardian Unlimited)
Rice, in Baghdad, praises new law Jan 16, 2008
BAGHDAD - During a surprise visit here yesterday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised Iraqi leaders for making progress on several key goals of the troop surge, including the approval of a controversial new law dealing with former Ba'ath party members. Speaking alongside Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, inside the International Zone, Rice praised the passage of the law, which is intended to undermine the Sunni Arab-led insurgency and to draw more Sunnis into the political... (Boston Globe)
IRAQ: RECONCILING WITH THE BA'ATH Jan 16, 2008
Last Saturday, the parliament took a major step toward meeting that challenge by creating a framework for national reconciliation: It unanimously voted to remove the blanket ban on public employment of members of the banned Ba'ath Party. As some of us noted before Saddam Hussein's 2003 fall, banning the Ba'ath as such was a mistake - for, in a sense, the Ba'ath had also been a victim of Saddam's savage rule. (New York Post -- Opinions)
US embassy car was target for Beirut bomb Jan 16, 2008
Rice welcomed the passage of legislation reinstating thousands of former members of the Ba'ath party to government jobs - one of several "benchmarks" for promoting reconciliation among the Sunni, Shia and Kurdish communities. Bush said he had been encouraged by signs of progress in Iraq and decided that Rice could "help push the momentum by her very presence". (Guardian Unlimited)
Iraq's Sunnis reclaim lost ground Jan 15, 2008
Indeed, the Sunnis are temporarily being placated, highlighted by the Iraqi Parliament approving a landmark bill on Sunday that would allow thousands of former Ba'ath party members to reclaim ... And so it was that on Sunday Parliament passed a bill allowing lower-ranking former members of the Ba'ath party to reclaim government jobs. (Asia Times Online)
Rice in Iraq for talks with PM Jan 15, 2008
The visit comes days after the Iraqi parliament passed new legislation to allow former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party to be appointed to some official posts. The new law, passed on Saturday, reverses part of America's controversial deBa'athification strategy following the 2003 invasion. (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
In Iraq, A Sunni-Shi'ite Detente? Jan 15, 2008
The Iraqi Parliament has rewritten the law which forbid former members of the Ba'ath Party to apply for jobs in the government and military ... Most had become members in the socialist Ba'ath party not for ideological reasons but because party membership was a prerequisite to professional advancement under Saddam Hussein ... It will allow all but a few thousand former Ba'ath party members to apply for government jobs and the military. (Time.com)
Iraqis OK bill to reinstate ex-Ba'athists Jan 13, 2008
BAGHDAD - Iraq's parliament passed a benchmark bill yesterday allowing lower-ranking former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party to reclaim government jobs, the first major piece of US-backed legislation it has adopted ... The strict implementation of so-called de-Ba'athification rules meant that many senior bureaucrats who knew how to run ministries, university departments, and state companies were fired after 35 years of Ba'ath Party rule ... Because advancement in government and... (Boston Globe)
Bush says US on track to withdraw 20,000 troops from Iraq Jan 13, 2008
Bush was encouraged yesterday by news that Iraq's parliament had approved legislation reinstating thousands of former supporters of Saddam Hussein's dissolved Ba'ath Party to government jobs. Bush also received a lavish welcome in Bahrain, where he met with King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. (Boston Globe)
The clock ticks for Iraq's time bomb Jan 4, 2008
While all of this was happening, a massive clampdown took place in al-Dour, another Iraqi city, where hundreds of young people were arrested on suspicion of hiding Saddam Hussein's former henchman, Ibrahim Izzat al-Douri, the current secretary general of the disbanded Iraqi Ba'ath Party. Emotions in the Sunni community of Iraq had already been sour, commemorating the first anniversary of the death of their former president in December 2006. (Asia Times Online)
Iraq's Cabinet OK's draft amnesty bill for detainees in prisons Dec 27, 2007
Many key draft laws, including measures to share oil revenue and to allow some members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party to hold government jobs, have remained mired for months in Iraq's gridlocked parliament. There was no immediate reaction from Sunni lawmakers who have in the past called for such a bill. (Boston Globe)
Suicide bombers strike again in Diyala Dec 8, 2007
Ibrahim Bajalan, the head of the Diyala provincial council, said the bomber was a former member of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party whose two sons joined Al Qaeda and were killed by Iraqi forces. "She wanted to avenge the killing of her two sons," he told the Associated Press. (Boston Globe)
Iraqi parliament suspends sessions for rest of month Dec 7, 2007
The Sunni speaker of parliament announced the decision to suspend sessions after days of debate over a draft bill that would allow thousands of former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party to return to their government jobs. The measure is among the 18 benchmarks set by the United States to encourage reconciliation. (Boston Globe)
Eye on the Oscars: Documentaries/IDA Awards Dec 7, 2007
Oscars, Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Grammy and Guild Features - Award Central - Variety. Distribs find niche films can't support hefty prices Despite a significant drop in box office receipts from 2005 to 2006, distributors were all over documentaries earlier this year at Sundance. (Variety)
Sunni Arabs win power-sharing deal in Kirkuk Dec 5, 2007
The Sunni-Kurdish deal, urged by US diplomats, could also move ahead other reconciliation bids demanded by Washington but stalled by disputes that include sharing oil wealth and compromising with Sunnis who backed Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party. Sunnis have struggled to find political footing since Hussein's fall, as majority Shi'ites cemented control of the government and security forces and Kurds enjoyed an economic boom in their semiautonomous enclave. (Boston Globe)
Reconciliation callIraqi politicians must consolidate security successes, says US Dec 4, 2007
These include the reintegration of former members of the Ba'ath party into the government, the allocation of oil resources and the status of the Kirkuk region. If Mr Negroponte is right, issues like these must be resolved to ensure that the relative security improvements in Iraq are sustained. (BBC News -- Africa)
US advises swift political progress in Iraq as violence slows Dec 3, 2007
The pending legislation would manage Iraq's oil wealth and lift rules limiting employment opportunities for former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party. US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who served as ambassador to Iraq in 2004, said six days of touring Iraq had left him encouraged by the improved security. (Boston Globe)
6,000 Sunnis join pact with US in security effort Nov 29, 2007
Extremists have sought new footholds in northern areas once loyal to Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party as the US-led gains have mounted across central regions. But their ability to strike near the capital remains. (Boston Globe)
Gunmen kill 11 relatives of Iraq journalist linked to Ba'ath Party Nov 27, 2007
BAGHDAD - Masked gunmen stormed the family home of a journalist who was associated with Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party and critical of the new Iraqi government, killing 11 relatives as they ate breakfast in a neighborhood known as a Shi'ite militia stronghold, colleagues said yesterday ... The journalist is known as an advocate for Hussein's banned Ba'ath Party. (Boston Globe)
Even more good news for Maliki Nov 27, 2007
They failed to see any difference between Saddam loyalists who had actually ordered the massacres, and Sunnis who had joined the Ba'ath Party with the sole purpose of professional development and social elevation ... Recently, adding to Maliki's anger, the disbanded Ba'ath Party announced that it is willing to work with his rival, the prime minister-in-waiting, Iyad Allawi. (Asia Times Online)
Ba'ath reform stirs uproar in Iraq Parliament Nov 26, 2007
BAGHDAD - Changes that would ease curbs on former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party rejoining Iraq's civil service and military appeared headed for legislative gridlock after attempts yesterday to read a draft bill in Parliament disintegrated into yelling and finger-pointing ... The legislation being considered by Parliament would loosen the restrictions on former Ba'ath Party members and address the issue of pensions for former senior members of Hussein's military. (Boston Globe)
US scaling back political goals for unifying Iraq Nov 25, 2007
The short-term American targets include passage of a $48 billion Iraqi budget, something the Iraqis say they are on their way to doing anyway; renewing the UN mandate that authorizes an American presence in the country, which the Iraqis have done repeatedly; and passing legislation to allow thousands of Ba'ath Party members from Saddam Hussein's era to rejoin the government. The last goal was described by a senior Bush administration official as largely symbolic, since rehirings have been... (Boston Globe)
It's getting hard to find bad guys Nov 14, 2007
Twenty-two Iraqi insurgent groups announced the creation of a united front, under the leadership of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, a former top Ba'ath Party official of the Saddam era, and they have opened talks with Iyad Allawi, a secular Shi'ite who was Iraq's first post-Saddam prime minister. We aren't fighting the Shi'ites. (Asia Times Online)
Clash between ex-insurgents, Al Qaeda in Iraq kills 18 Nov 11, 2007
Much of the Islamic Army in Iraq, a major Sunni Arab insurgent group that includes former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party, has joined the US-led fight against Al Qaeda in Iraq along with Sunni tribesmen and other former insurgents repelled by the terror group's brutality and extremism ... Like the Islamic Army, the 1920s Revolution Brigades includes former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party and officers from his army. (Boston Globe)
Iraqi bloggersFilthy tap water and other tales from Baghdad and Mosul Nov 4, 2007
Three days ago the Ba'ath party distributed fliers of their new political statement in [Baghdad's Sunni neighbourhood of] Adhamiya ... It's a struggle for power and control between the Ba'ath party, al-Qaeda and the Salvation Council, each one trying to prove they are better than the others, were they in charge. (BBC News -- Africa)
The calamity of Iraq has not even won us cheap oil Nov 2, 2007
Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary at the time of the invasion, has comically and humiliatingly contradicted himself as to whether he did or didn't oppose the crazy decisions to disband the Iraqi army - thereby setting loose large numbers of resentful armed fighters - and to dismiss all Ba'ath party members - thereby denuding the country of administrators. In any case, what is now quite clear is that his views didn't matter one way or the other. (Guardian Unlimited)
Britain backed plans for Ba'ath party clearout Oct 29, 2007
Britain backed US plans for Ba'ath party clearout in Iraq, documentary alleges ... Senior ministers and officials have attacked the Bush administration for its failure to plan for the aftermath of the war, arguing the US ignored their misgivings about the decision to ban members of the Ba'ath party from the new government ... But according to the two-part BBC1 documentary No Plan, No Peace, screened last night and tonight, the security adviser to America's proconsul, Paul Bremer, believed that... (Guardian Unlimited)
An Interview With David Horowitz Oct 26, 2007
The Ba'ath Party of Iraq and Syria are fascist parties, the Iranian guard goosesteps for a reason, that's an homage. You keep bringing up the status of women, but women are abused in other societies as well. (The Emory Wheel)
Syria: Stop Arrests for Online Comments Oct 8, 2007
Habib Salih: On May 29, 2005, Military Intelligence officers arrested Habib Salih in Tartus, approximately 100 miles (130 kilometers) north of Damascus, for posting on two websites a series of open letters addressed to the delegates attending the June 2005 Ba'ath Party Conference in which he detailed his prison experiences. In the months since his release, he had also written critical articles for the Lebanese newspaper an-Nahar and the banned website. (AlertNet)
Mission accomplished in Iraq Oct 8, 2007
Asked upon the conclusion of Desert Storm in 1991 why the huge armada assembled in Kuwait had not proceeded to liberate all of Iraq from Saddam Hussein, whom former President George Bush had called "worse than Hitler," then Secretary of Defense Cheney replied, "I think for us to get American military personnel involved in a civil war inside Iraq would literally be a quagmire. Once we got to Baghdad, what would we do? Who (sic) would we put in power? What kind of government? Would it be a Sunni... (The Daily Princetonian, NJ)
An anti-US, anti-al-Qaeda voice is silenced Oct 2, 2007
Members of Parliament and the National Progressive Front, a coalition of leftist parties under the umbrella of the ruling Ba'ath Party, attended his funeral. Thousands took part, with young people wearing shirts with his image imprinted on it, carrying slogans that read, "The voice of justice at a time of silence." His coffin was draped with the Syrian flag, making the service a semi-official function. (Asia Times Online)
Greg Gutfeld: Katie Couric, Elitist Defeatist Sep 29, 2007
That's 100,000 men otherwise known as the Ba'ath Party who are basically Nazis, but poorly dressed. Initially, I was impressed by Katie's newfound war expertise. (Fox News)
Further UK troop withdrawal agreed Sep 19, 2007
But there had been no contact with "unreconstructed elements" of the Ba'ath party. Full coverage. (Guardian Unlimited)
Bush passes the buck Sep 15, 2007
By the same token, Bush's postinvasion policy called for purging nearly all Sunni Arabs who had belonged to the Ba'ath Party from military, security, and civil service positions. This opened the way for the Sunni insurgency, the implantation of Al Qaeda in Iraq, and the current sectarian civil war. (Boston Globe)
We were over-optimistic, Blair adviser says Sep 13, 2007
He also confirmed that the British government did not support the decisions of the then US governor in Iraq, Paul Bremner, to disband the Iraqi army and remove Ba'ath party supporters from several layers of the civil service. In an extraordinary admission of British lack of influence on the key decisions taken in Washington, Sir David told the New Statesman: "I don't think they set out to double cross the prime minister. I don't think that is true. I think what you see here is confusion."I did... (Guardian Unlimited)
Petraeus sees 2008 troop cutbut long road to Iraq stability Sep 11, 2007
In his portion of the report, Crocker told lawmakers there has been minimal political progress, far short of what he had hoped to report: the passage of key legislation on distributing Iraq's oil wealth, a system to allow former Ba'ath party members back into government, and an agreement on how Iraq's provinces would relate to a central government. "I do believe Iraq's leaders have the will to tackle the country's pressing problems, although it will take longer than we originally anticipated,"... (Boston Globe)
Basra timelineKey events since the British army swept into southern Iraq in 2003 Sep 11, 2007
The headquarters of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party is taken out with a satellite-guided 2,000lb bomb. 27 March: UK troops destroy 14 Iraqi tanks in what is said to be the biggest British tank battle since World War II. The British military and Tony Blair deplore an Iraqi broadcast allegedly showing UK prisoners and bodies. (BBC News -- UK)
DAN K. THOMASSON: A rush to escape blame for Iraq Sep 11, 2007
The chief scapegoat from the earliest days was the original viceroy, as it were, to Iraq, L. Paul Bremer III, whose precipitous dismantling of both the Iraqi army and the controlling Ba'ath party has been roundly blamed for the security failures that led to so many American and Iraqi deaths. In a new book, President Bush is presented as being dismayed by Bremer's decision, indicating that it was not supposed to go that way. (Fresno Bee -- Opinion)
Panel calls for US troop withdrawal in 5 years Sep 9, 2007
The talks should not be allowed to adjourn without agreements on power sharing, revising the constitution, oil resources, local elections, easing a ban on former Ba'ath Party members, and the future of Kirkuk, the report says. A similar model was used to broker an end to the war in Bosnia. (Boston Globe)
Suicide bomber kills 15 in Baghdad Sep 9, 2007
A law aimed at returning thousands of members of Saddam Hussein's ousted Ba'ath Party to government appeared to be the closest to being ready. "We will receive it today or tomorrow and then it will be put forward in Parliament for discussion this week," deputy Parliament speaker Khaled al-Attiyah said by phone. (Boston Globe -- World)
Something to report on Iraq Sep 7, 2007
Inasmuch as it is highly heterogeneous, drawn from former Ba'ath Party members, ousted army officers, and tribal and religious figures, it is unlikely that such losses can be inflicted. Accordingly, the prospects of an insurgent counter to recent US efforts are real. (Asia Times Online)
Iraq's government failed, US isn't doing so well either Sep 6, 2007
What this actually means is undeBa'athification: that is, belatedly reversing the decision by the sometime US viceroy Paul Bremer to purge virtually all members of Saddam Hussein's ruling Ba'ath party from the fledgling structures of the new Iraq, thus removing the competent along with the criminal and corrupt. Together with the decision to disband the Iraqi army, this is now regarded - even by many then at the highest levels of the American and British government and army - as among the most... (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
Petraeus hints at 2008 Iraq rollback Sep 5, 2007
In the first letter, from Mr Bremer to the president, dated May 22 2003, Mr Bremer writes at length about Iraqis weeping tears of joy at their liberation, and the dissolution of Saddam's ruling Ba'ath party. He deals with the disbanding of the army in a single sentence. (Guardian Unlimited)
Bush says US troop reduction possible Sep 4, 2007
He "congratulated them . . . for the achievement" of signing an agreement in the past week to work together on provincial elections, the status of former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party, and other issues but emphasized it was only "a starting point," national security adviser Stephen Hadley told Pentagon reporters. In a meeting that followed with the Iraqi leaders and Sunni sheiks from Anbar Province, Bush sat at the center of the table and, according to Hadley, "encouraged the... (Boston Globe -- Nation)
Benchmarks come and go Sep 1, 2007
Last Sunday, several prominent Iraqi leaders announced a deal that would let some members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party back into the government, an issue that has been a key point of contention between Sunni and Shi'ite factions. But many experts doubted that the deal would lead to any real political progress. (Asia Times Online)
After deadly clash, Iraq cleric orders gunmen to stand down Aug 30, 2007
But Maliki's suggestion that remnants of Saddam Hussein's Sunni Arab-dominated Ba'ath Party were to blame drew scorn in Baghdad as another example of his inability to properly identify and eradicate the roots of violence in Iraq. "Al-Maliki is only making matters worse with his interference and his visit" to Karbala and Najaf, said Nassar Rubaie, head of Sadr's parliamentary faction. (Boston Globe -- World)
Iraqi head denounces critics in Congress Aug 27, 2007
They also said they agreed to change a law preventing many former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party from holding government jobs and elected office. However, the leaders provided few details and made clear that much work remained to be done before the plans are implemented. (Boston Globe)
Iraqi PM hits back at US senators Aug 27, 2007
Iraqi officials said the leaders had agreed on draft legislation that would ease curbs on former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party from joining the civil service and military. The apparent breakthrough comes two weeks before General David Petraeus, the senior US military commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador, are set to deliver a progress report on Iraq to Congress. (MSNBC -- Business)
Abdel-Rahman Aref, at 91; was former president of Iraq Aug 26, 2007
AMMAN, Jordan -- Former president Abdel-Rahman Aref of Iraq, overthrown more than 35 years ago in a coup that brought Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party to power, died in Amman early Friday ... Mr. Aref was president until 1968, when he was toppled in a bloodless coup by the Ba'ath Party, led at the time by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, who became Iraq's next president. (Boston Globe)
Bush: In the footsteps of Napoleon Aug 25, 2007
(In fact, captured Ba'ath Party documents show that Saddam's fretting security forces, on hearing that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had entered Iraq, put out an all points bulletin on him, imagining - not entirely correctly - that he had al-Qaeda links. Likewise, Bush promised that Iraq's alleged "weapons of mass destruction" (which existed only in his own fevered imagination) would be tracked down, again implying that Iraq posed a threat to the interests and security of the US, just as Napoleon had... (Asia Times Online)
POLITICS-US: Bush Campaigns to Sustain Military "Surge" Aug 23, 2007
Not only has the Iraqi parliament failed to approve legislation on the distribution of oil revenues, the eligibility of former Ba'ath party officials to return to government, or on the holding of elections that would give Sunnis a greater voice in provincial and local councils, but the largest Sunni bloc aligned with the government walked out earlier this month. Crocker himself called progress toward national reconciliation "extremely disappointing" Tuesday, while even Bush appeared to be... (IPS)
Wikipedia and the art of censorship Aug 18, 2007
The Republican Party edited Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party entry so it made it clear that the US-led invasion was not a "US-led occupation" but a "US-led liberation.". The CIA and casualties of war. (Independent)
Iraq leaders may meet to discuss crisis Aug 18, 2007
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)
