*EPF504 04/23/2004
Coalition Provisional Authority Report, April 23: Iraq Update
(Senor says technical fixes made to de-Ba'athification process) (660)

Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) spokesman Dan Senor says adjustments are being made to the Iraqi de-Ba'athification process but the policy is still the correct one for Iraq.

Senor briefed reporters in Baghdad April 23 about efforts to fine-tune the policy following a major 20-minute address to the nation by CPA Administrator Paul Bremer. "We are taking steps to ensure that the policy is implemented fairly and efficiently," the spokesman said.

Many Iraqis have complained that de-Ba'athification procedures have been unfairly applied, particularly in the field of education, Senor said. But he also said that the original policy that disqualifies individuals that were part of the top three layers of the Ba'ath Party and/or the top four layers of any ministry "remains intact."

In discussions with Iraqis, he said, the fundamental policy was found to be credible, "but the manner in which it's been implemented has at times been uneven."

"Many teachers were Ba'athists in name only," Senor said, and it's unfair to deny the Iraqi educational system a cadre of competent and qualified teachers, as they were never involved in committing atrocities in the name of the Ba'ath Party. The existing appeal process for anyone who has been disqualified is handled through the education ministries, he said.

As to whether what has been experienced by the educational sector might have been be replicated elsewhere in the government, Senor said, "we haven't heard about it."

Unlike the educational sector, the military vetting process is very different, according to Senor, in part because there is no appeals process associated with the military. The new Iraqi Army and other security services are being rebuilt with recruits from the former security apparatus as long as they do "not have blood on their hands," he said. All along, the spokesman said, the plan was to recruit "from the pool" of the former Iraqi Army.

Senor highlighted other aspects of Ambassador Bremer's speech (http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=April&x=20040423123753dmslahrellek6.589907e-02&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html) on Iraqi security, rebuilding Iraq's economy and political transformation. For example, the ambassador has ordered an acceleration of all reconstruction projects, particularly those that employ Iraqis. He has also allocated another $500 million for quick-fix reconstruction projects for road and school repairs.

In addition, Bremer has set in motion a National Commission for Remembrance to help "Iraqis come to terms with their past" including the atrocities that occurred between 1968 and 2003. The commission, Senor said, will administer a $10 million fund for remembrance projects and a central memorial project. That fund will likely grow as private donations are received, he said.

Fallujah was also addressed in the security portion of Bremer's speech when he said that the individuals who are "responsible for the lawlessness and unrest that began...in February with the murder of 17 Iraqi policemen still bear heavy arms in the streets." While the cease-fire there is a "good start," the ambassador said, armed militias "must submit to national authority."

U.S. Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, who briefed with Senor, said the weapons turned in on April 23 "were of generally the same low quality" as the day before. Kimmitt, who is deputy director of operations for the Combined Joint Task Force-7, said a deadline for the handover of heavy weapons hasn't been announced because "We don't want to necessarily telegraph our moves."

Kimmitt said "we are trying to put Iraqi security forces.... Iraqi police.... Iraq governmental authority.... Iraqi Civil Defense Corps ... back" into Fallujah. He also emphasized that the coalition is trying "to bring Iraqi government control back into the city."

Asked about the investigation into the bombings in Basra, Kimmitt said no group has yet claimed responsibility.

The transcript of the CPA briefing may be viewed on the Web at http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2004/tr20040423-0650.html

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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