I may have gotten this wrong. But if I read Dan Senior's apologia correctly, he informs us that the US has been paying monthly stipends to"those who had worked in Saddam Hussein's intelligence and political control organizations - rather than the regular army or the Republican Guard - and those at the top four ranks of the Baath Party" who were barred from serving in the new Iraqi army.

In other words, Saddam's henchmen, free from financial worries, had all the time in the world to plot their return to power. If this makes sense to anyone, do let me know. I believe only Ph.Ds (yes, my people) would come up with such a"sophisticated" way of dealing with a deadly enemy.