"The new Iraqi Army has opened its door to members of the former army," he said. "The national unity government is willing to assimilate those who wish to serve their country on a professional basis, depending on the army's capability to integrate them."
Al-Maliki also called on parliament to "review the constitutional items regarding such committees as de-Ba'athification and the Anticorruption Committee to embody the principle of forgiveness."
Speaking at the conference, al-Maliki also reached across sectarian lines for a way to end the violence. "We call for a serious review of existing political formations to restructure them along national lines, and for a broad national front that will include all political groups, transcending narrow affiliations and loyalties to accommodate competent and expert elements in order to run the country without sectarian, ethnic and partisan quotas," he said.
Iraqi defense officials have recruited former Hussein-era officers in the past, but only to junior ranks.
Presidential spokesman Kamaran Qaradaghi told the conference that President Jalal Talabani also backs national reconciliation.
The Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S. body that ran Iraq following the U.S.-led 2003 invasion, disbanded the Iraqi Army and purged members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party from higher levels of public administration in the first months of the occupation.
Accelerating Handover To Iraqi Troops
Al-Maliki, reaching out to those officers and soldiers who lost their posts, imposed few conditions on the return of former military personnel. He only cautioned that those returning should be loyal to the country and conduct themselves professionally. Al-Maliki also said the army's size might limit the number accepted, but those unable to join would be given pensions.
Al-Maliki addressing the conference on December 16 (epa)