The Trial of Saddam Hussein and The Fallout of The War

The Trial of Saddam Hussein

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The fallout in the Middle East from the regime change in Iraq

Friday, August 26, 2005

Ba' athist Comeback

Saddam Hussein's Baath party is making a political comeback.

Seemingly, the Ba'athist movement has become a channel for Sunni Arab political expression.

Much like Britain's "New Labour", the Ba' ath party has had a political makeover. It is now referred to, by some, as the New Ba'ath party.

Colonel Steven Salazar, commander of the US brigade in Diyala, said:

"It's an organisation that has been developing in the last six months, if not longer.

They've held big party functions where they talk about their political future. But in the background, there are always small groups dedicated to violence,"


The Ba'ath have claimed responsibility for guerrilla attacks on US and government targets, and recently claimed responsibility for assassinating a Shia provincial council member.

Col Salazar said:

"If there's going to be a Ba'ath party, it's going to have to be a very different kind of party,".

However, the draft constitution prohibits the revival of "the Saddamist Ba'ath party".

Hence the need for an image makoever.

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