Bremer Defends Choice to Dissolve Iraq's Military

Former Coalition Provisional Authority chief Paul Bremer defended his 2003 order to dismantle Iraq's armed forces, arguing in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that the move was essential to convincing Iraqis the new government would not repeat Saddam Hussein's repression. Bremer compared the deposed regime's military and Baathist structures to Nazi Germany.

Opponents have long contended the dissolution fed the armed insurgency, pointing to former soldiers who joined rebel ranks. Bremer countered that the army had already collapsed on its own before Baghdad fell, and that polls from 2003 showed broad public support for dismantling the old order. He also noted that much of the reconstituted Iraqi military consists of veterans from the previous force.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in January 2005, in its own words.