Maleki's De-Ba'athification.

Maleki's De-Ba'athification. A wall in the holy Ja'fari city of Najaf is plastered withposters bearing a symbolic X across Sunni Arab MP Dhafer al-Ani, who hasbeen barred from running in the election because of his alleged ties tothe Ba'th. The slogan above his head reads, "No to the returnof the Ba'thists". After having courted former Ba'thiststo join his bloc in 2009 (see sbme4IrqNextPM-Oct5-09,rim4IrqBa'thOct19-09 and fap5IrqSecularNov9-09), Maleki now insistsIraq's future depends on purging its past links with Saddam'sSunni/Ba'thist dictatorship. He randomly passes judgment on thereach of those suspected of being loyal to the Ba'th. Hispronouncements whether in the CoR, or after deadly Baghdad bombings andin Jan. 23 talks with Biden all stress that Shi'ite-led Iraq cannever be secure until it has weeded out all remnants of Saddam'spower base. However, Maleki's preoccupation with hunting Ba'thists isalienating both Sunni Arabs and secular Ja'faris at a pivotal timefor his government. The Sunni votes are needed by Maleki's SoL inthe March 7 election to fend off challenges from rival Shi'ites whowant to unseat him. Maleki is increasingly rigid just as Washington islooking for some finesse. Sunni and Secular Shi'ite leaders objectmore to the method than his message. They say the steamroll approachcannot distinguish between those who were key Saddam loyalists andothers who expressed support for the Ba'th to secure jobs, study inuniversities or simply get exit visas for travel abroad. David Schenker, an Iraq expert at the Washington Institute for NearEast Policy, says: "Maleki sees Ba'thists everywhere.Thisfails to take into account the depths of Ba'thism. It wasfar-reaching. It didn't just have its hard-core ideologicalfollowers, but also other Iraqis who were supporters just to geton". Maleki's worries have some real grounding. The US military andothers believe elements of Saddam's regime became part of the widerSunni-led insurgency. Maleki has gone a step further: directly accusingSaddam loyalists for carrying out the huge bombings in Baghdad sinceAug. 19 and denouncing the regime of Syria for allegedly harbouring themand the Neo-Salafi groups like al-Qaeda. In December days after aseries of blasts killed over 130 people Maleki came before angry CoRmembers and repeated his fist-pounding against the Ba'thist threat.It was widely interpreted as an attempt to divert attention from serioussecurity lapses around government buildings the main targets of Baghdadsuicide bombings in recent months. The latest run at suspected Ba'thists has put Maleki undereven more heat. He has strongly backed a vetting process by theIRGC-guided AJA. The 512-strong roster includes more secularShi'ite than Sunnis. Some Sunni leaders see it as political tool toknock out candidates without any clear evidence and raise suspicionsbefore voting. Such rancour runs straight to the White House. USofficials worry about anything which could raise questions about thefairness of the election, seen as an important step in Iraq'sreconciliation and a boost towards accelerating US troops withdrawals.Biden came to Baghdad to drive home that point. Yet Maleki was notswayed. He repeated the need to exclude even former Ba'thists fromany important roles in Iraq.