Iraqi Baathists: Your view

Senior Iraqi Baath party officials could be allowed to participate in the interim government being formed by the UN.

The move announced by US officials comes as part of an initiative to get public sector workers in Iraq who have been unemployed since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime back to work.

Civil servants could get their jobs back if they prove they were Baath party members in name only.

The move represents a major shift in US policy, correspondents say.

Should the coalition employ former members of the Baath Party? Should they be allowed back to work in the new Iraq?

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This debate is now closed. Read your comments below.

The following comments reflect the balance of the opinion we have received:

Basically, it seems that most Sunnis in Iraq were/are Baathist. Do they not deserve representation too? I would suspect that most of them were Baathist just to survive Saddam's tyranny. They do have a right to be heard, not all of them were criminals. Just like some Nazis were Nazis just to survive, not all of them were criminals either. Plus, didn't the Allies after WWII employ ex-Nazis to help reconstruct Germany? Sunni Muslims still live in Iraq, and should be represented.
Brian O'Hare, New York, New York

It's a right decision, even though it might be too late Andrea Baucero, Milano, Italy

I think it's a right decision, even though it might be too late. The Baath party had a hard core of criminals, but as every "party-state", it also had thousand of members who joined it out of necessity, just to find a job. Had the same policy applied to Italy after WWII, most of the people would be unemployed, since many Italian people at that time were members of the fascist party. I think that this change might even help in convincing some of the insurgents (those who fight because unemployed and frustrated) to lay down their weapons. If the choice is between getting their job back and being killed by the marines, I'm confident that a lot of them will choose the first.
Andrea Baucero, Milano, Italy

Exactly what Bush and Blair did not want! They told us that 40% of the US trained Iraqi police/military forces refused to fight the Iraqis and 10% of the Iraqis trained by US has turned their weapons against US. Members of the Baath party are Iraqis and have the right to work and participate in the reconstruction of their country. This new move by US is welcome.
Kolawole Raheem, Finland

I guess Americans can't hack Iraq without the support of a party created by a Dictator to suppress the democracy. What an irony so called saviour of the democracy now resorting to a Dictator's army!
Paindo, UK

They have decades of experience being subservient to those with the power. I'm sure the American who will pull the strings in Iraq over the next few decades will come to appreciate them.
John Toth, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

The coalition administrations must be dizzy from all the spinning and u-turning NM, Scotland

I don't understand. Previously the US and UK governments told us that the Baathists were evil thugs, end of story. And now the same governments are going to give these people important jobs? Is this more propaganda about the Baathist regime, just like we were about the reasons for war in the first place (WMDs... remember them?). The coalition administrations must be dizzy from all the spinning and u-turning they have been doing lately. I hope this type of event makes Joe Public realise how every word we are told by politicians is propaganda, every word.
NM, Scotland

Saddam is a war criminal because he used his Baath party to commit horrible atrocities against the Iraqi people. Now the so called liberators of Iraq are going to do the same. Have the people of Iraq attained freedom or has a despised hated dictator been replaced by a capitalist power that similar plans for Iraq and the Middle East?
Safar Senego, Kansas. US.

There nothing wrong in accepting Baath party members, but the unclean elements (those involved in crimes against humanity) need to cleansed from the system and into prison.
V Singh, London UK

Provided that proper background checks are in place to weed out anybody with direct connections to Saddam's crimes against humanity, I see no reason for this not to go ahead. Many of these people are probably the experienced administrators that Iraq needs.
Oliver, Cambridge, UK

The US should never have cracked down on the Baath party like it did in the first place. If they had done their homework, the Americans would have realised that the ideals of the Baath party are not dictatorship and oppression etc. It is people like Saddam that have given an otherwise legitimate party, and more importantly a home grown Arab political philosophy, such a bad name.
Mark, London

Why not? After the World War II didn't the Allies employ former Nazis to rebuild Germany? Likewise, former Baath party members clearly have a lot of experience in Government that it would be a total waste not to use them.
Anton Godfrey, Bristol

Should republicans be employed when democrats come to power?
IF, Russia

Er, how exactly are they going to tell if they were members 'in name only'? After all, how many freely admitted to being members of the Nazi party after WW2?
Ossi, bristol, UK

As an Iraqi I am outraged at plans to give former Baath party officials roles in the coming government. Not only will this lead to further destabilisation of Iraq, but will also anger many Iraqis who have suffered under the Baath regime. If this happens, Iraqis will start to speculate that 'another Saddam' is being lined up for Iraq, and the nightmare that faced them for more than 35 years will eventually return.

The best way to deal with this is to ask the Iraqis themselves through opinion polls. If next year's elections do go ahead, the Iraqis will show those advocating these plans that Iraq's future has no place for the Baath Party.
Mohammed Al-Shahib, Milton Keynes, UK

It is their birth right to receive the basic necessities of life including jobs Javed, Karachi, Pakistan

It is their birth right to receive the basic necessities of life including jobs. After all they are the citizens of Iraq.
Javed, Karachi, Pakistan

Why not? If the Republican Party can be permitted to run the United States why not let the Baath party run Iraq? They can't do much worse.
Mitch Sprague, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Next they will bring back Saddam because he managed to keep the peace!
Duncan, Salisbury, UK

The coalition could employ whoever they want, but it's very undemocratic for any segment of any society to be prevented from participating in governance. The West is good at paying lip service to democracy and acting a dictator who distributes favours.
Ray N, USA

A formal system of generalized amnesty for the small fish is in order Lawrence, Brussels, EU

We could learn something from the situation after the Second World War. German Nazis were immediately reintegrated into society, and even accepted in other societies (America took the brightest). A formal system of generalized amnesty for the small fish is in order.
Lawrence, Brussels, EU

In many fields former Baathists should be allowed. In the police and military they must be very careful. Loyalty to the new Iraq Government must be demanded.
Ed. Anderson, Stendal, Germany

Why not? After all the former Baathists know their job description better than the US hand picked officials, who melts away when the going gets tough.
Cleopatra Ploug Jensen, Denmark

This should not even be a question for a new democratic Iraq. Democracy is for all. So nobody should be excluded in the making of a country. If we keep prejudice and not give the opportunity to one group of people, there will never be a national consensus and stability in Iraq. Think long-term!!!
Ashok Poudyal, Atlanta, USA

Such a party should not be allowed in a multicultural society like Iraq Ak-Abass, Basra, Iraq

Senior Baath party members should not be allowed to participate in the interim government, simply because they are behind the suffering of Iraqi people, they don't have the sense of sharing. Such a party should not be allowed in a multicultural society like Iraq. Coming back may trigger civil war.
Ak-Abass, Basra, Iraq

As long as they didn't take part in torture or repression. Though something needs to be done to stop corruption and nepotism taking root in the provisional authority and the new civil service. Also, why are foreign nationals being brought into the country to work when the Iraqi people have mass unemployment?
Joseph Wilkinson, Cumbria, UK

It's time for the Iraqis to work together to rebuild their country. They should concentrate on their future rather than their past in order to create a united society far from any discrimination.
Saman Ahmed, London, UK

This move by the US administration just shows how short-sighted their vision for the post-war Iraq really was JS, UK

This move by the US administration just shows how short-sighted their vision for the post-war Iraq really was. Did Rumsfeld not say that the Baathist regime was criminal and evil? But I suppose he also said Iraq was full of WMDs.
JS, UK

If a united Iraq is going to be achieved all Iraqis must work together for their common good, including former members of the Baath Party.
Jon Lewis, Cardiff, Wales

If there is to be true democracy then they must be represented.
Stuart, Romford, UK

With the stroke of a pen the US successfully made an enemy of 400,000 armed to the teeth party members, making its tenure in Iraq an utter nightmare. Reversing the policy might be a step in the right direction, but it is a step too little too late. A considerable number of Baath party members were innocent civilians who were given by the regime a choice either to live in hardship or to join the party.
Ayad M Khamis, London, UK

The Baath party was an evil machine designed to suppress the population. However, for all of its evil there are undoubtedly some worthy and experienced members who may give positive contribution to Iraq. Furthermore, it was a huge American mistake to destroy the whole Iraqi government structure. It should have been modified, not destroyed. They should welcome some members back. Hopefully they will be the least blood-tainted ones.
Rman, USA

Not every schoolteacher or former civil servant was a criminal Jukka Väänänen, Helsinki, Finland

Of course. It is amazing that the US did not let Baath party members work in the first place. Not every single schoolteacher or former civil servant was a criminal.
Jukka Väänänen, Helsinki, Finland

If anyone is good at a job, whether professionally or otherwise, they have a right to work. The only proviso being that they are willing to work with their previous political enemies.
Jean Lockhart, Kelty, Fife, UK

Yes, if they are willing to stand up and fight for what they believe in - their own country.
Christian Cook, St Petersburg, USA

No, no, no. This course of action would only serve to perpetuate the problems that the war was intended to solve in the first place.
S, UK

Who else is there with the training, experience and local knowledge to administer Iraq?
JohnM, LyenMeads, UK

Many joined the Baath party out of necessity Zaki A Sapiuddin, KL, Malaysia

I believe many joined the Baath party out of necessity and if they have been proven not to be criminals, I believe they should be given their old jobs back.
Zaki A Sapiuddin, KL, Malaysia

Yes. Under Saddam, the majority of Iraqis, especially teachers and civil servants, had no choice but to join the Baath Party or be persecuted. Many of these people are innocent of the evils of Saddam's regime and are desperately needed now to get Iraq back on its feet.
Zaid Al-Hindawi, Iraqi in London, UK

I think it is a good step forward to call on former Baathists. The future of Iraq should be based on reconciliation between Iraqis, including Baathists, and not on the exclusion of a chunk of the society.
Elyes, Paris, France