De-Ba'athification (Arabic: اجتثاث حزب البعث) refers to a policy undertaken in Iraq by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and subsequent Iraqi governments to remove the Ba'ath Party's influence in the new Iraqi political system after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.[1] It was considered by the CPA to be Iraq's equivalent to Germany's denazification after World War II. It was first outlined in CPA Order 1 which entered into force on 16 May 2003.[1] The order declared that all public sector employees affiliated with the Ba'ath Party were to be removed from their positions and to be banned from any future employment in the public sector.[1]
The policy was highly controversial among many American academics, institutions, government, military, and international media and debate outlets.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The policy under the CPA was officially rescinded on 28 June 2004 as part of the transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government two days later.[10] However, elements of the policy continued under the Iraqi Governing Council and later under the elected Iraqi Parliament.[11]
The De-Baathification order was drafted by relatively unknown mid-level Pentagon officials and emerged from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s office.[12]
Proponents of the policy contend that the policy effectively cleansed Iraqi society of Ba'athist influence, facilitating the creation of a democratic Iraqi government.[5][8] Critics argue that the policy was not only undemocratic, but also a significant factor in the deteriorating security situation throughout Iraq.[12][7][13][14][15][16] The policy became associated with anti-Sunni sectarian overtones due to its disproportionate targeting of Sunni civil servants and army officials.[17]
^ ab"Orders of Disorder". Foreign Affairs. 2023. Over the last 20 years, as the United States has reckoned with the human toll and costly legacy of its disastrous war of choice in the Middle East, those two infamous decisions of Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority—CPA Order 1, de-Baathifying the Iraqi state, and CPA Order 2, dissolving the Iraqi military—have been held up as some of the worst mistakes of the war. They are seen as sparks that would ignite the insurgency to come and set Iraq aflame for years, a period of disorder that would claim the lives of thousands of U.S. troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians.
^Harris, William (2018). "Glossary". Quicksilver War: Syria, Iraq and the Spiral of Conflict. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA: Oxford University Press. p. 176. ISBN9780190874872.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)