like other authoritarian regimes, the baath system was pa termistic to its -- paternalistic to its supporters offering opportunities and rewards in every sphere. jobs, financial bonuses and pensions were all part of the reward system and without one of the medals or badges, it was difficult to get into the compensation structure. to system up this reward, saddam hussein's baath party controlled iraq for 35 years based on this dual system of rewards and punishment. systems that were extensive in range and a justice to the circumstances of the period. let me finish by briefly discussing the issue of sectarianism that is having significant implications on daily lives in current iraq. as i mentioned, the baath party was obsessive about collecting information on every citizen, and yet there was one question that was never asked on any form, and that was about the sect. forms tended to ask two questions; religion and nationality. so you could be a muslim and kurd or christian and arab. i think that it is important to understand that saddam hussein's regime defined iraqis not as much by their religi