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121630Z MAY
GRS 438
RESTRICTED
FM IRAQREP
TO DESKBY 121700Z FCO
OF 121630Z MAY 03
INFO IMMEDIATE EU POSIS, EU ENLARGEMENT POSTS, MIDDLE EAST POSTS
INFO IMMEDIATE SECURITY COUNCIL POSTS, CANBERRA, OTTAWA, NEW DELHI
INFO IMMEDIATE PRETORIA CAPETOWN,
CABINET OFFICE, DFID, DTI
INFO IMMEDIATE HMT, MODUK, PJHQUK, TPUK
SIC
SUBJECT: IRAQ: "DE-BA'ATHIFICATION"
SUMMARY
1. Bremer, rightly, plans to move quickly to set out a policy on "De-Ba'athification" or "De-Saddam-isation" as it may now be called. Need for urgent views, if you have them, on how far we think this should go.
DETAIL
2. Bremer set out in our first meeting his intention to issue a new binding policy on the role of former members of the regime, in particular the Ba'ath Party, in public service or political roles.
This is good: the issue needs addressing quickly. The question is how to define the scope of those excluded.
3. All agree that the top three levels of the Ba'ath - the Regional (Qutriyah), Branch (Fira') and Popular (Shu'ba) levels - should be banned. Our rough estimate suggests that should cover up to 5,000 people. Added to that will have to be the top levels of the instruments of repression - the security, intelligence organisations etc.
4. Some politicians (Chalabi, Pachachi, Talabani) are arguing that the fourth level of the party - Team (firga) - should also be included. This would extend the numbers to some 30,000 possibly more. The argument in favour is that this is the level where party officials began to receive privileges such as free housing and thus were identified popularly as beneficiaries of the regime. Against that is the danger that too wide a list will be hard to administer;
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But I frankly don't have sufficient feel for the Iraqi Ba'ath Party to know the level at which real evil began.
Contact:
SAWERS
WSLNAN 5318
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DECLASSISO