伊拉克政府说，将恢复以前被免职的两万名军官的职位，这些在萨达姆.侯赛因执政期间服役的军官在2003年美国出兵伊拉克之后被免职。伊拉克国防部发言人穆罕默德.阿斯卡里星期五说，这些前军官将马上复职。这个复职措施是在伊拉克将于3月7日举行议会选举之前几天宣布的，一些人称军官复职是政治之举。
反对派成员指责总理马利基试图赢得萨达姆复兴党的支持。自从独裁者萨达姆被推翻之后，复兴党一直受到排挤。政府否认军官复职与此有任何关联。伊拉克宗派关系最近趋于紧张，特别是在政府禁止将近500名候选人参加3月7日选举之后，政府指称这些人与复兴党有关联。这些被禁止参选的候选人其中大部分是占人口少数的逊尼派。
The Iraqi government says it will reinstate 20,000 army officers who served under Saddam Hussein and were fired after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. A Defense Ministry spokesman, Mohammad al-Askari, said Friday the former officers will be rehired right away. This move comes just a few days before parliamentary elections on March 7, prompting some to allege that the rehiring step is political.
Opposition members are accusing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of trying to win support from Saddam’s Ba’ath party, which has been marginalized since the dictator’s ouster. The government denies any connection. Sectarian tensions have flared recently, especially after the government banned nearly 500 candidates from taking part in the March 7 vote for allegedly having ties to the Ba’ath party. The majority of the disqualified candidates are minority Sunnis.