Iraq backpedaling: A big step

[Paul <paul_@xxxxxxx>]

Front page, lead story NYT.

> http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/02/international/middleeast/02ARMY.html

> U.S. Considering Recalling Units of Old Iraq Army

> WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 ? Some American military officers in Iraq are pressing 
> to reconstitute entire units of the former Iraqi Army, which the top 
> United States administrator in Baghdad disbanded in May. They say the 
> change would speed the creation of a new army and stabilize the nation.
>
> Proposals under consideration would involve identifying former Iraqi 
> officers and weeding out any still loyal to Saddam Hussein. Those who pass 
> the vetting could then track down the troops who had served under them in 
> order to re-assemble complete companies and battalions rapidly
...
>  But the talks tacitly acknowledge that some officers view Mr. Bremer's 
> decision to dismantle the defeated 500,000-member Iraqi Army as a 
> mistake, one that has contributed to the instability and increasing 
> attacks against United States forces in Iraq.