BAGHDAD -

Although Iraq is not witnessing a real state of war at the present time, there are many positions and senior ranks inside and outside the military institution with various titles, in a scene that Iraq did not live before 2003, observers believe that it is outside the organizational structures and outside controls, and financial budgets are strained because of The power of the privileges granted to these positions that come through political parties without due qualifications, but rather through quotas and nepotism.

"One of the most tragedies in post-2003 Iraq is the issue of ranks, whether in the Ministry of Interior or Defense," says the security expert, Eid Al-Flood.

He added - in a press interview a few days ago - that since the establishment of the Iraqi army in 1921 until 2003, the number of those who held the rank of Lieutenant-General and First Lieutenant-General was only 81 officers, while during the past 19 years, there were 120 promotions to the rank of Lieutenant-General and First Lieutenant-General in the army and the interior.

In this regard, security expert Sarmad Al-Bayati believes that one of the reasons for the slack in the higher military ranks in the military is due to the failure to retire those who reach the legal age, and there are many senior officers who do not want to be retired because of the privileges they enjoy.

Al-Bayati tells Al-Jazeera Net that the slack is clear and significant, which called on the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Mustafa Al-Kazemi earlier not to approve the promotion of officers from the rank of brigadier general to the rank of major general for my promotion schedule, but the referral to retirement is the best way to stop sagging, and this must apply. Civil institutions are also required, especially after the government earlier set the retirement age from 63 years to 60 years.

By comparing the administrative organization of the former Iraqi army and the current army, al-Bayati explained that there were no higher military ranks with such intensity before 2003, as the rank of brigadier general used to occupy the position of a military division commander, and the corps commander was hardly a staff member, and the number of senior ranks is very few compared to what It's reality now.

There is no official statistics on the numbers of senior officers in the military or security establishment in Iraq, but observers see the numbers in the hundreds, including ranks nominated by influential political parties.

According to the Law of Service and Retirement of the Internal Security Forces in Iraq, the rank promotion is carried out according to regulations, the rank of lieutenant is granted to a person after graduating from the military college or police college, then first lieutenant after 3 years, then captain after 3 years, and major 4 years to be promoted For the rank of lieutenant colonel, then another 4 years to become a colonel, another 4 years to become a brigadier general, and from brigadier general to major general 6 years, and the same for the rank of Lieutenant-General for 6 years as well, provided that the officer is not subjected to penalties during the period of his eligibility for promotion and promotion.

Bahia stressed the importance of having a tight organizational structure in the military (Al Jazeera Net)

Weak organizational structure

Retired Major General Dr. Adnan Bahia, one of the commanders of the naval force in the former Iraqi army, says that the higher military ranks in the Ministries of Defense and Interior today are more like hybrid organizations due to the weakness of the organizational structure for positions, as there must be a specific number of senior and even lower ranks, and it cannot be There will be more than one person in the same position, indicating that there are unqualified, unbehaved officers who have not risen in ranks, promotion or hierarchy. Some of them came through the quotas of political parties, to enter the military system and given the rank according to the influence and influence of the party that nominated them for the position.

Bahia explains to Al Jazeera Net that those who were granted high ranks or jobs, were granted without entitlement, and they are people who did not enter military colleges before, and are given high ranks and then employed in the Ministries of Defense and Interior without performing real job duties within the specialization, especially since they did not participate in the For example, development courses or specialization courses.

According to the military system in Iraq, no officer can be promoted without participating in special training and qualification courses for commanders of units and formations, and the more complex problem cannot be referred to retirement because of their political affiliations.

Bahia points out the importance of having a tight organizational structure in the military institution that is accurately and fairly applied by the Directorate of Organization in the Chief of Staff of the Army to everyone, so that a large number of officers are referred to retirement for reasons of exceeding the specified age, for health reasons, and for the absence of the position to fill it, adding that there are Positions are created, such as a consultant or committee head, and others, all of which are outside the organizational structure of the military, and costly in terms of privileges, noting that the military does not disclose the real numbers of higher ranks.

As for exceeding the legal ages of non-commissioned officers and soldiers, Bahia confirms that the organization determines the ages, and the privileges are according to the entitlements, and there are often soldiers whose ranks do not match their ages or their peers, so compulsory military service is necessary to have reserve soldiers and junior ranks, to fill the gaps and positions lowest.

In mid-2017, the Prime Minister, the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Haider al-Abadi, suspended the military promotion, for the first time in the modern history of Iraq since 1958, in an attempt to address the slack in the military corps.

Al-Mishaal believes that the inflation of higher ranks and civil and military positions is the result of administrative and financial corruption (communication sites)

Unprecedented sagging

Political analyst Falah al-Mishal believes that the inflation of senior ranks and civil and military positions is the result of administrative and financial corruption in the country, especially that there are dozens of advisors in the departments of the three presidencies without real work for them, only receiving large salaries, privileges and protections without benefit to society and the state, as is the case with parliamentarians and their offices, not to mention the advisors, experts, and special degrees that the minister obtains and transfers to his friends, relatives, and those around him.

Al-Mishal adds that all this led to a slack that has not happened before in Iraq or any country in modern history, and the situation also applies to governorates, local councils, and departments established by presidencies or local councils without any desired benefit, only to satisfy the parties, political quotas and the distribution of the cake as they describe them. .

Al-Mishaal indicates to Al-Jazeera Net that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - for example - has hundreds of employees in embassies in other countries, which do not have commercial or economic relations with Iraq, or even the Iraqi community, especially in some African and Asian countries.

Hantoush: Iraq has been burdened by the presence of about 4,500 degrees of employment, especially among general managers, undersecretaries, advisers and officers (Al-Jazeera Net)

Special job grades

In economic terms, economist Mustafa Akram Hantoush says that the Iraqi state, especially after 2003, was burdened by the presence of about 4,500 degrees of employment, especially among general managers, agents of ministries, advisers and officers, and the problem is that the salaries of these are outside the salary scale due to the addition of position allocations and special-class allocations, as well as About incentives and percentages of deals and profits, and these positions led to non-technical and impractical competition.

Hantoush adds to Al Jazeera Net that the struggle for positions did not bring benefits to the country, and positions must be given to specialists, and those who graduated in the job who have better visions in the development of the engineering, medical, industrial, commercial and even military sectors.

Unnecessary military and civilian positions receive large financial allocations, equal to or sometimes greater than the salary of a minister, in addition to other allocations such as petty cash, protections and cars.