Former Iraqi army officers now allowed to join new Iraqi army

Monday, January 01, 2007 at 11:52 AM

As long ago as at least late 2003 mainstream media were reporting on the problems being caused by the US's action in disbanding Saddam Hussein's army.

Less attention has been paid to recent actions by the Iraqi government to draw officers of the disbanded army back to the Iraqi military.

A news report two weeks ago indicated that:

The Defence Ministry has recruited former officers of Saddam's army but limited the invitation to junior officers. Maliki's plea, addressing a long-standing Sunni demand, was the first extended to all ranks.

The breadth of the proposal to reinstate former officers is unclear, however, given more recent reports in Iraqi news sources that only Majors and below are welcome to return:

...Maliki's instructions [to accept applications from former officers] only cover officers up to the rank of major. Officers with higher ranks are not covered.