Faced with increasing violence and chaos across Iraq as the June 30 deadline for handing over to an Iraqi government, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld today announced the re-hiring of deposed Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. Standing next to a beaming Saddam at a surprise press conference in Baghdad, Rumsfeld said that bringing Mr. Hussein back “would help Iraqis make the transition to self-rule and democracy.”

The shock move follows the decision last week by the head of the US occupation authority in Iraq, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, to lift the ban on former members of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath party holding government jobs. Thousands of former Ba’athists are expected to return to work as civil servants, schoolteachers and police. Iraq’s US appointed defence minister even reappointed three of Saddam’s former generals to top posts in the new Iraqi army.

Richard Snarle, of the think-tank, The Center for Wild-Eyed Schemes of World Domination, one of the strong backers of the Iraq war, denounced the move to restore Saddam, saying that it undermined the US goal of bringing freedom, democracy and Wal-Mart to the Iraqi people.

But Bremer offered a robust defense, saying, “Not every dictator is a bad person. Some dictators only behave badly so they can get a job on the CIA payroll. Saddam is just such a dictator. There are many others too. Right now we employ Musharraf in Pakistan.” Bremer added, “People like Mr. Hussein have a great deal of experience in running Iraq. They possess a lot of valuable local knowledge, like for example, how to speak Arabic. In the new Iraq, everyone must have a role in pulling together and building for the future.”

Saddam, who appeared neatly turned out in the blue uniform of the US-created Iraqi Civil Defense Force, told reporters that he looked forward to working with the United States to build a new and better Iraq. “For many years now, we have been estranged,” Saddam said, “but now we must put our minor disagreements behind us, and go back to the positive relations we had in the past.”