Amer Taheri offers free advice for the upcoming Bush-Maliki meet in Jordan. Example…
Mr. Bush should also allow that the disbanding the army of the former regime was a mistake, albeit one done on the advice of the new Iraqi political elite, including Mr. Maliki’s camp. The way to rectify the mistake is to invite all former offices and NCOs, if they wish, to return to service. With stringent screening measures in place, Iraq would be able to keep the undesirable elements out while allowing others a second chance. In the same spirit, parliament must also come up with a more comprehensive amnesty law to cover hundreds of thousands of people whose sole offense was membership in the Baath Party, often forced upon them by circumstances.
Mr. Bush must also emphasize that Mr. Maliki’s government has failed to develop a coherent strategy for dealing with security issues. It needs a coordinator to make sure that the ministries of defense and interior, the army command, the police hierarchy and the dozen or so different armed units attached to different ministries work together to prevent infiltration and rogue actors, including those that pose as Shiite militias. It also needs to root out corruption and nepotism. Mr. Maliki must have heard what they say in Baghdad teahouses about “a government of thieves and their cousins.” Perhaps this is unfair. But corruption could become as much of a threat as the jihadists.
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