Not only does this bring back many of Mr. Hussein's men into public service. It also authorises a new militia at a time when militias were supposed to disband.
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Many senior Iraqi officers already hail the deal as the first step on the path to replacing Iraqi civilian rule with Iraqi military rule, which is more likely, they argue, to bring about the stability which America craves. “Democracy will never take root in Iraq,” says a former Baathist general. “Only the Iraqi army can cow the population into acquiescence.”
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The defence minister worries that President Bush may be drawn to the idea of stability in Iraq, even if that means military rule. Iraqi democrats are talking nervously about the restoration of “Saddam Lite”.