FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2004
US announces re-Baathification of Iraq
AP
BAGHDAD: The top US administrator in Iraq announced on Friday an easing of the purge of members of Saddam Hussein's disbanded party that will allow thousands of former Baathists to return to positions in the military and the government bureaucracy.
The announcement represented a backing down from a centerpiece of US policy in Iraq after Saddam's fall - the dissolution of the Baath Party and military that were key tools of repression by the former regime. US officials say this will still keep Baathists who committed crimes out of government.
Most Iraqi leaders welcomed the change announced on Friday, saying the strong purge was a mistake from the start and fueled the anti-US insurgency. Allowing in members of Saddam's disbanded Baath party, however, could face some opposition, particularly among Kurds and Shiites who were brutally suppressed by Saddam.
L Paul Bremer, the top US administrator, called de-Baathification a good policy, but acknowledged that many Iraqis complained about it.
The way the policy is implemented will be changed, he said in an address aired on US-run Al-Iraqiya television.
More military officers who served in Saddam's army but have clean records will be allowed to join the new army being constructed from scratch by the US-led coalition, he said. He also said teachers and professors who did not use their positions to harm Iraqis will be allowed to return. Bremer's speech was broadcast with an Arabic voiceover.
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