Jordan Wants Hussein’s Soldiers to Be Rehired

Jordan’s foreign minister said Thursday that the multinational effort to train Iraqi security forces was not producing nearly as many troops and police officers as needed, and he urged that Saddam Hussein’s disbanded army be rehired.

Offering a more pessimistic assessment than U.S. or Iraqi officials, Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher said the effort to train recruits in Jordan and Iraq, though key, “obviously is not enough.”

“The process of training new people is taking a long time ... you’re just not able to produce enough in the time allotted,” he told reporters during a U.S. visit. “We believe the time has come to bring back the army.”

Muasher argued that rank-and-file soldiers from the old Iraqi army could be reinstated to their jobs, and he dismissed suggestions that bringing back those who had led the armed forces under Hussein could taint the military.

“We see no reason why the majority of the army can’t be offered at least a chance to come back,” Muasher said. “These are already trained, and they can be sent out rather quickly.”

Jordan, one of the United States’ closest allies in the region, is home to a U.S.-run desert training camp that has geared up to turn out 35,000 new Iraqi police officers over the next two years. The first class of 458 concluded a four-week training program Monday.

The program to train police, national guardsmen and soldiers is central to the U.S.-led effort to end the violence in Iraq. President Bush and interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi spoke optimistically about the program last week, and Bush has promised that 125,000 police, soldiers and other security personnel will be fully trained by year’s end.

The Iraqis’ deployment is intended to allow U.S. forces to hand over their lead role in combating the insurgency.

Muasher said Jordan considered the disbanding of the Iraqi army “one of the major reasons that led to the security vacuum.” He noted that Allawi, who has argued strongly for more ex-military personnel to be returned to duty, had already taken steps to bring back former troops.

U.S. officials have said privately that progress is slow because of a shortage of qualified trainers and facilities, and because of the dangers faced by Iraqis willing to take on the jobs.