Tens of thousands of young men with military experience with no jobs and barely enough money to feed themselves let alone their families.
Yes, it was a massive mistake.
The vast majority would have been happy for a constant pay check.
If the Baathist units had been allowed to remain intact, there would be no hope for change in Iraq. No civilian government. They would have been viewed, rightly, as just a continuation of Saddam’s reign, and the US as powerless (even more so than now, I mean, heh).
I am GLAD that they were ‘broken’ and starved for awhile. They needed some humility. Now maybe they can be useful members of Iraqui society, and not its overlords.