Oil law by Sept, need navy-air-force, Rubaie says

"Mowaffak al-Rubaie, the national security adviser to Iraq’s prime minister, undertook on Tuesday what may have been his most challenging mission yet: trying to persuade American lawmakers who have all but run out of patience that still more patience is required.
. . . Mr. Rubaie stressed that a law distributing oil revenues would be in place by September and that a date would be set for provincial elections to be held in 2008.
Work is under way on constitutional reforms, he said, and the overhaul of the policy barring most former Baath Party members from government jobs would be completed by the end of the year.
. . . Mr. Rubaie also asserted that Iraqi government officials were involved in serious discussions with several insurgent groups, including the 1920s Revolutionary Brigade and Ansar al-Sunna — an effort to split the opposition and turn them against Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia.
. . . Mr. Rubaie stressed that Iraq was involved in a historic process to overcome the long legacy of authoritarian rule, and that the early withdrawal of American troops would lead to chaos." [1]

"Although U.S. troops could eventually redeploy to forward bases in Iraq and the region, he said, a U.S. presence will be needed until Iraq builds not just an army, but also an air force and a navy, which could take decades.
'We will need coalition forces for the foreseeable future,' he said in an interview with editors and reporters at The Washington Post. 'Building an air force to own our air and to be able to defend Iraq cannot be done overnight, or in months. It will take decades to build an air force and to build a navy.' " [2]

source
[1] Gordon, Michael R. (The New York Times). Official Takes Case to U.S., but Skeptics Don’t Budge. May 9, 2007.
[2] Wright, Robin. (The Washington Post). Iraq Seeks Time to Take Steps, but Levin Notes 'Disconnect'. May 10, 2007.
posted: friday, may 11, 2007, 2:03 PM ET
update: sunday, may 13, 2007, 10:17 AM ET

tags: iraq mowaffak al-rubaie

Draft Baath law approved

"Iraq's prime minister and president have approved a draft law allowing many former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party to return to their government jobs, and it could be voted on this week, officials said Monday.
The legislation, seen by the United States as crucial to pacifying Iraq, will go to parliament as soon as it is reviewed by cabinet officials, said Ahmed Shames, a spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
. . . Under U.S. pressure, Maliki agreed last year to readdress the issue of former Baathists by early this year. Some U.S. officials had recently warned that the efforts were stalled.
The draft, which was released by the U.S. Embassy early Tuesday, would let all but the three highest levels of Baathists return to their jobs, provided they had not been involved in criminal activity. All those who lost their jobs would collect a pension." [1]

"[T]housands more former Baathists would be allowed to hold government jobs than under the current law. Former Baathists who return to government work would have to sign a pledge that they would refrain from making political statements about the current government.
The law would also set a three-month time limit for Iraqi citizens who have complaints against former Baathists to bring a claim. Then the courts would have six months to rule. Any claims brought subsequently would be thrown out.
The goal of the new law is to take a step toward reconciling Sunnis and Shiites, said Dr. Sadiq al-Raqadi, a political adviser to Mr. Maliki.
'The reason for the new law is that the government wants to finish these cases; they want to close the files of the Baathists,' he said. 'This is an effort to find a solution for the problem of the Baathists.' " [2]

source
[1] Brulliard, Karin. (The Washington Post). Proposed Iraqi Law Would Restore Jobs For Baath Members. March 27, 2007.
[2] Rubin, Alissa J. (The New York Times). Iraqis Announce New Steps Aimed at Reconciling Sunnis and Shiites. March 27, 2007.

posted: thursday, march 28, 2007, 12:56 AM ET
update: thursday, march 28, 2007, 12:59 AM ET

tags: iraq baath maliki

Chalabi touts de-baath success / Sadr boycott to end

"Ahmad Chalabi, the former exile who helped the United States build the case for invading Iraq and who heads a committee on de-Baathification, appeared at a rare outdoor news conference in the Green Zone to announce that more than 700 Baathists had returned to their old government jobs.
Smiling behind a bank of television microphones as bombs and gunfire interrupted his speech, Mr. Chalabi, who had advocated a strong de-Baathification effort, said the government’s roster of rehired workers would continue to grow."

"Falah Shanshel, one of about 30 lawmakers affiliated with the renegade Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, said the Sadr bloc would end its boycott of Parliament in the next few days."

source
The New York Times. Iraqis Answer Global Critics by Tackling Troubling Issues. January 18, 2007.

posted: saturday, january 20, 2007, 6:02 PM ET

tags: iraq sadr de-baathification

Chalabi heads Bremer's failed de-Baathification policy

" 'This is a big mistake,' [Timothy M.] Carney thought in May 2003, when [L. Paul] Bremer told senior CPA [Coalition Provisional Authority] officials that he would soon issue an edict prohibiting many former members of Hussein's Baath Party from holding government jobs.
. . . Bremer eventually concluded that the policy had been applied 'unevenly and unjustly.' . . . He announced that appeals would be handled by a de-Baathification commission headed by Ahmed Chalabi, a controversial former exile whose informants had helped the Bush administration make the case for war.
. . . Maliki told Bush recently that he supports a revised de-Baathification law -- but the issue isn't in the prime minister's hands. It's still with Chalabi.
Chalabi is the chairman of the Supreme National Commission for De-Baathification. . . . He has prepared draft legislation that calls for easing some elements of Bremer's policy, but he said parliament has been unable to act on it because a majority of the members of the legislature's de-Baathification committee belong to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's political party, which walked out in November to protest a meeting between Maliki and Bush."

source
The Washington Post. On Iraq, U.S. Turns to Onetime Dissenters. January 14, 2007.

posted: wednesday, january 17, 2007, 1:04 AM ET

tags: iraq de-baathification chalabi