Iraq parliament passes law to rehire Baathists

From Yahoo via Reuters.

Iraq's parliament passed a law on Saturday to ease restrictions on mostly Sunni Arab members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party returning to public life, one of the main political benchmarks set by the United States. Washington has been pressing Iraq's Shi'ite Islamist-led government to pass the law in an effort to draw the minority Sunni Arab community that held sway under Saddam closer into the political process. "The law has been passed. We see it as a very good sign of progress and it will greatly benefit Baathists. It was passed smoothly and opposition was small," said Rasheed al-Azzawi, a Sunni member of the committee which helped modify some of the language of the law. The Accountability and Justice bill replaces the De-Baathification law, which Sunnis have long complained amounted to collective punishment against their sect. The new law will allow thousands of former party members to apply for reinstatement in the civil service and military, while pensions will be given to a smaller group of more senior members still banned from public life. (emphasis added).

Another nail has just been put in Al Qaeda in Iraq's coffin.

Four especially important points are present in this article:

1. It passed smoothly without significant opposition.

2. It allows former party members to be reinstated in the military which will assist Iraq with its leadership problems in this organization.

3. It reinstates pensions for many senior members. Undoubtedly, while not mentioned, it also has a provision that if found to be working against the government, the pension can be suspended.

4. Finally, a key US benchmark has happened because of The Surge. What are anti-war, defeatist US politicians going to say now?

With the likehood of a national unity government on the rise, passage of the oil law cannot be far behind.

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