De-Ba'athification Ratified As Law

By Cernig

The Iragi Presidential Council has ratified the de-Ba-athification law, but not unanimously.

Iraq's presidency council said on Sunday a measure that would give thousands of former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party their old jobs back had become law, finalising a key piece of legislation sought by Washington.

But underlining divisions within the three-man council, the measure became law despite objections from Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Arab member.

...The statement said the council had been debating the law, but that those discussions did not finish within the 10 days the constitution gives it to review such legislation.

That means the measure becomes law automatically unless the council specifically rejects it.

"Although we respect parliament, this law is contrary in many articles to what was agreed by political leaders," the statement said, without citing the articles.

No doubt all the visitors we're currently getting from LGF and Hot Air will celebrate this is good news and a sure sign of the last corner victory they've been talking about for four years. But they will ignore the elephant in the room as usual. This law was supposed to address greivances by Sunnis - yet it's the Sunni VP who is objecting most and didn't vote for the law. That doesn't seem to me to be a good sign moving forward.