BAGHDAD, Iraq - (KRT) - Iraq's fledgling security forces are in danger of collapse if the newly elected government follows through on promises to purge the ranks of former regime members, politicians and analysts here warn.
The dismantling of Saddam Hussein's military is widely viewed as one of the gravest mistakes of the U.S.-led occupation, and the Bush administration has worked in the past year to reverse it by helping the interim Iraqi government restore the jobs of some highly skilled troops who served under Saddam. Now, analysts say, the incoming government led by Shiite Muslims is at risk of repeating the error that was blamed for swelling the mostly Sunni insurgency.
"The Americans tried it and discovered it was the wrong move," said Salman al-Jumaili, a Baghdad University professor who studies the insurgency. "Doing it again is going to make these men easy recruits for terrorism and will lead to the destruction of Iraqi forces.
A secular Shiite and former Baathist, Allawi staunchly opposes the new government's plan to reinstate de-Baathification. But Iraq's Shiite majority and influential Kurdish minority - the groups that bore the brunt of atrocities from Saddam's security apparatus - are for it. Both Shiites and Kurds have strong militias they hope will form the backbone of Iraqi forces. Haider al-Musawi, a spokesman for Chalabi, said under the new Shiite-dominated government, de-Baathification would be "energized" and cleaning out the security forces is a priority.
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/world/11127590.htm---------------------------------------------------------------
Looks like the Iraq government (if it ever gets a set up) is ready to make the same dumbass mistake as Bremer did.