Intelligence and security personnel who served under former leader Saddam Hussein have the right to attend a conference to discuss their problems, a senior official said.
Rasheed Saleh al-Naseri, the head of the so-called “disbanded entities” ,said the government was ready to listen to all those who served the former regime as members of security and intelligence organizations.
The move comes as the government has asked all these members, whether inside or outside Iraq, to fill in special forms in order to have them rehabilitated.
Those living abroad can do so by completing these forms electronically, he said.
Naseri said the government was serious to give everyone the opportunity of returning to work or getting a decent pension.
“Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered that no member of the entities which were disbanded, regardless of their position and function, should be be excluded. “The authorities should swiftly process their application to return to work or their desire to retire, Naseri said, quoting Maliki.
“This decision is a gain for the Iraqi family and those covered will have all their privileges and salaries given to them retroactively,” he said.
“I call on the personnel of the former intelligence to organize a special conference to discuss the best ways to solve their problems. I guarantee that all will get their full rights.
“We need them to work with us to rebuild the country. Intelligence and security are the basic pillars of a secure society,” he said.
Asked whether Maliki’s ruling covers even members of “coercive organs”, Nasseri said he was not happy with term and whether a person or institution was oppressive it was for the courts to decide.
The disbanding of former institutions such as the army, the police, security, intelligence and information is believed to be one of the main reasons behind the upsurge in violence and anti-government and U.S. rebellion.
Analysts say the government should have taken such a decision long time ago since hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have suffered hugely from the decision to disband the armed forces and security organs.
So we should have kept the NAZI's in power in Germany to run things well?
Such a pity.......Saddam's military and "security organs" (read as suppression, rape and torture) did such a magnificent job prior to their defeat...< /sarcasm> -- for those in Rio Linda)
Hell, many of them are STILL working against the coalition, both from Iraq and from Syria and Iran...
The future will probably prove my suspicion that the major error we made as allowing so many to leave the battlefield or their offices ALIVE......