Opinion from the desk of the Editor:

Yes Irene the country of Iraq is suffering through a time of change……the establishment of the Islamic State has hit everyone for a loop.  Now the world is scrambling around trying to find someone anyone that can take the battle to IS and stop reacting to their attacks.  But where to look for the possibility of leadership in this coming battle without using American troops on the ground?

Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Iraqi military is seeking the assistance of Saddam Hussein-era military officials in a bid to stem the advance of “terrorist” groups, particularly the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which continues its advance in central and northern parts of the country.

In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat Iraqi Ministry of Defense adviser Lt. Gen. Thamer bin Sultan Al-Tikriti said former officials who served in the military establishment during the era of Saddam Hussein will be able to find a place in the present Iraqi army. They will be organized into military units affiliated with the Iraqi army to help eradicate ISIS and similar-minded groups, the official said.

This comes after Saddam-era military and political officials have been marginalized in post-Saddam Iraq, part of the controversial de-Ba’athification process instituted following the fall of the dictator.

You see in there infinite wisdom the US decided the only way to get Iraq to submit to their occupation was to get rid of the generals and other officers that had served in the Iraqi army of Saddam.

The recent defeats of the present day Iraqi army has shown the powers that they, the Iraqi troops, needed experienced leadership.

You see in 2004 while the country was in the midst of a de-Baathification process an Iraqi general warned that it might not be a good idea……

A general with 32 years of military service at the time of Hussein’s fall, today he is governor of the former dictator’s home, Tikrit, a job handed to him by the U.S.-led occupation authority.

He believes there is a danger in banning former soldiers who were high-ranking Baath Party members from government positions,

So far he has been proven right…….there might not have been a rapid advance of IS if there had been battle hardened generals and officers to take command of the army when it is needed.

Yet another failed policy of the US occupation of Iraq.  In our rush to save the oil industry we overlooked yet another possibility……the return to violence and the possibility of the rise of a more extreme form of foe, aka Islamic State.