Posted on 06/21/2004 3:47:41 PM PDT by Ragtime Cowgirl
Bremer Details Top Accomplishments of Post-War IraqBy Kathleen T. Rhem BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 21, 2004 As he prepares to leave Iraq after the handover of sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government, the American who has led the country since the end of major offensive operations looked back and detailed what he believes are the three greatest accomplishment there to date. "I think what's important is actually to step back and look at the broader picture of what's been achieved over the last year," Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III explained June 16 to American reporters in Iraq with Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. Bremer said changes in the political and economic structures and the "psychological approach to the government" account for the possibility of a stable future for Iraq. On the political front, Bremer outlined four areas in which Iraq has made great strides:
Regarding the economy, the ambassador cited three major accomplishments:
The final area of great accomplishment in Iraq has been in fighting corruption, Bremer said. An aggressive training program is fighting corruption in police and security forces, and three institutions are addressing corruption in government, he added. Bremer appointed inspectors general in all 26 ministries, "something they've never had before." The IGs are paid through the prime minister's office to ensure their independence. Officials have revitalized and reappointed the Board of Supreme Audit, which Bremer described as similar to the U.S. government's General Accounting Office. "It's basically auditors to look at how the government is spending money," he said. Also, officials have established a Commission on Public Integrity, "which is a kind of a national ombudsman that can hear complaints from anywhere around the country against any government officials for corruption and can investigate and bring cases in court," he said. Bremer acknowledged these institutions aren't going to end corruption by themselves. "But," he said, "all three of these are fundamental structural changes that I think, once the security situation is in better control, will give Iraq sort of the building blocks it needs for a stable future. "No doubt there are a lot of other problems here, and there will be a lot more violence here, particularly I think in the next few months as we run towards elections," he continued. "But a lot of the structural changes that are needed for the end-state of a stable Iraq are in place now." Biography:
|
Prior to being in Iraq, Ambassador Bremer was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Marsh Crisis Consulting Company, a crisis management firm owned by the financial services firm Marsh & McLennan.
Here's a little known fact. The first plane into the north tower of the WTC went not into Cantor, Fitzgerald, as most people seem to think, but directly into the offices of Marsh & McLennan, which occupied the floors just below Cantor, Fitzgerald.
Bremer worked at Marsh & McLennan at the time, but I have no idea if his office was located in the WTC.
"Acceptance of the idea that the rule of law is what governs the country"
Would that be sharia law?
Now if we could only get them to sign onto that over here.
And, as we saw on another thread, a significant decline in the number of refugees heading toward industrialized nations. Iraq and Afghanistan had been the two largest contributors of such refugees.
This is a country as familiar as Romania with oppression and tyranny - and as likely to allow another such "rule".
Bump!
Does the credit for that go to Bremer, or to the troops who did the fighting?
Bump!
You tell me.
Not Bremer.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.