Bremer: Other than the death, mayhem and corruption...
L. Paul (Jerry) Bremer (can someone explain the whole extra name thing to me and why anyone would do that?) admitted in his book shilling NYT Op-Ed today that he "made some mistakes" while running the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.
While we all felt the ground shake at that admission (who would have guessed things there were done wrong?), I was wondering exactly what he got right. His admission included:
Among the mistakes Bremer cited in the column were the implementation of de-Baathification and reconstruction policy.
Bremer says he didn't realize that the people oppressed and tortured by the Baathists might have been a little harsh carrying out the de-Baathification, and who would have guessed that? I know when someone stands on my neck for 30 or 40 years, my first instinct is for fairness and understanding when they let me up.
And, despite the fact that something like 8 billion dollars of CPA controlled money is unaccounted for, Bremer argues that he should have been exempt from contracting rules.
I'm no expert, but everything I've read said Bremer was at least partially hamstrung by his Pentagon keepers and the boot of Dick Cheney, but his real obsession was creating the Club for Growth/Grover Norquist model of the uber-free market economy since he had a blank slate to work with.
Thanks for the explanation, though.
While we all felt the ground shake at that admission (who would have guessed things there were done wrong?), I was wondering exactly what he got right. His admission included:
Among the mistakes Bremer cited in the column were the implementation of de-Baathification and reconstruction policy.
Bremer says he didn't realize that the people oppressed and tortured by the Baathists might have been a little harsh carrying out the de-Baathification, and who would have guessed that? I know when someone stands on my neck for 30 or 40 years, my first instinct is for fairness and understanding when they let me up.
And, despite the fact that something like 8 billion dollars of CPA controlled money is unaccounted for, Bremer argues that he should have been exempt from contracting rules.
I'm no expert, but everything I've read said Bremer was at least partially hamstrung by his Pentagon keepers and the boot of Dick Cheney, but his real obsession was creating the Club for Growth/Grover Norquist model of the uber-free market economy since he had a blank slate to work with.
Thanks for the explanation, though.
posted by John at 9:46 PM
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