If the US stays too long, growing disquiet could revive the Ba’ath Party

THE Ba’ath Party ruled Iraq well before Iraqi President Saddam Hussein seized full control and it is likely to haunt Iraqi politics long after he disappears.

Most experts think a new regime will depend heavily at lower levels on former Ba'athists.

The Arab Ba'ath Socialist Party gained a totalitarian grip over nearly all aspects of Iraqi society since its first brief lurch to power in 1963 and its final takeover in 1968.