Dubai: It is not every day that one finds an Arab woman in the sensitive position of security adviser to the commander of a country’s army.
Meet Dr Bassima Al Saedi, member of Iraq’s parliament, who has cemented her place in a field dominated by men in military uniforms and high rankings. As a former security adviser to Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, Dr Bassima has been instrumental in stabilising the situation in Iraq in the difficult period from mid-2007 to the end of 2011.
Dr Bassima does not mince words when talking about the actions of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) as well as the guerrilla elements in Ramadi and Fallujah against the Iraqi army. She is of the opinion that Isil is but another name for Al Qaida that harbors nothing but hatred for life, and loves destruction.
“I don’t think its members are human beings,” she days. “They are rather beasts with no religion because Islam has nothing to do with their barbaric acts. After all, they cannot be more than a gang which is defying a government, and their end is imminent at the hands of the sovereign state. Al Anbar is sure to be their graveyard and this gang will be defeated at the hands of the genuine people of Al Anbar.”
From July 2007 to April 2008, Dr Bassima worked as secretary to the Reconciliation Follow-up Committee. In that position, she was able to resolve the issue of armed forces personnel whose services were terminated by a decree from the Civil Governor Paul Bremer (the administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq, effectively the occupation’s government in the country). Following her work, those who wished to return to the army were allowed to return, while those who refused were offered retirement.
There was also the problem of military industrialisation personnel after Bremer dissolved the sector. It was resolved by attaching the personnel to other ministries on an individual or collective basis, following a decree by the prime minister. The Republican Presidency personnel were retired.
Arguably, Dr Bassima’s biggest achievement was to bring about reconciliation with citizens in ‘hot areas’ by addressing feelings of marginalisation and alienation and integrating them as partners in the political process. This task was accomplished through ‘rescue councils’ established in areas such as Al Anbar, which worked to re-integrate disgruntled citizens into society.
Dr Bassima was always clear what she wanted to do in life. She did her Master’s degree thesis on ‘National security and the College of National Defence’s strategy’. Her thesis at the College of National Defence, which works in collaboration with Nato, was based on the effect of national reconciliation, how transitional justice was applied and the latter’s role in achieving peace and security, particularly in 2005-07. During that period, many had been betting that Iraq would slide into civil war.
Dr Bassima does not accept that a military career is a male bastion or that the army is a difficult place for women. “I am of the view that tackling this issue is not the prerogative of men nor is it a male-dominated or a male specialty. I don’t agree with such views. It is only the culture of our Arab society which imposed such beliefs upon us. I think that women are, like men, capable of innovating excelling and achieving success.”
She added that there are certain areas in which women do better than men even though society deems them to be difficult, hazardous, or impossible for women to get into. She cites her case as a classic example. “I don’t deny that I have suffered due to male jealousy. There have been attempts to cause me to fail at all levels because of the wrong belief that I have broken into a sphere which is their prerogative,” he says.
Dr Bassima is used to meeting challenges head-on. In 2006, she worked as a rapporteur for the Parliamentary Security and Defence Committee at a time when Iraq was on the verge of civil war.
“We were able to contain the security challenges in collaboration with the prime minister, although Iraq was occupied by multinational forces during this period,” she recalls.
The committee contributed to rebuilding the Iraqi Armed Forces through cooperation, follow-up action, and capability-building exercises for the armed forces, police and units combating terrorism.
“We have studied the political, social and security aspects from various perspectives and are convinced that Iraq is not a country which exports or believes in terrorism. All this chaos in Iraq is the result of Bremer’s rule,” she says. “He dissolved the institutions of the army, Ministry of Information and other security institutions. Those who generated this policy of chaos were persons who were inimical to the political process. Moreover, many of them were engaged in terrorist organisations, the aim of which was to kill their Iraqi brothers for nothing, but money, malice and rejecting the change which occurred in Iraq.”