Washington Whispers: Next, a new big-picture guy bound for Baghdad?

The Bush administration is considering appointing a new civilian "superboss" to oversee the rebuilding program in Iraq. The new post would likely be headquartered in Baghdad and be over Washington's current supervisor in Iraq, retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, say very senior sources. The plan is "under consideration," says a top administration official. If it happens, insiders say, it will be a victory for the State Department, which has been sparring with the Pentagon over who is in charge of the rebuilding program. Garner's role is to get Iraq up and running: making sure water and electricity work, rebuilding roads, opening key ministries. Senior Bushies say they now want a bigfoot diplomat to help create a new government. "They want somebody interested in the bigger picture, the government," says one insider. Second: Garner is considered the Pentagon's guy, and the State Department, with congressional backing, wants to run the postwar show. Suggests a source: "State wants their own civilian running the show, not [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld's civilian."

Considering his troubles with international affairs, the economy, and oil prices when he manned the Oval Office, former President Jimmy Carter's advice isn't worth much in the Bush White House. But there is one area where the Democrat's recommendations score big: fishing. Bushies were very interested when we passed on Carter's tips on fishing holes near Camp David, especially in trout-filled Hunting Creek. While most presidents--like former President Bush--stick with bass fishing in a pond on the compound, Carter suggests a short trip to Hunting Creek, just down the hill from the presidential retreat in western Maryland. "When I was using Camp David almost every weekend and was an avid fly-fisher, they kept it well stocked," he recently told Whispers. "I know they still do." But it's not like shooting fish in a barrel. Often "it's just an accident if the fish happens to take your fly." If the incumbent president fails to hook one, Carter has a backup plan: He keeps a list of guides and flies that work on rainbows.

Shock and awe
We don't think this is what the Pentagon had in mind when it crafted the phrase "shock and awe" to describe the opening of the Iraq war campaign. At the U.S. Patent Office are applications to market "Shock and Awe Bar-B-Que Sauce," "Shock and Awe weedkiller," and an energy drink. Even, we're told, a "Shock and Awe Condom." Says the insider who provided this info: "Yikes!"

$10,000 question
If you're sure President Bush will be re-elected next year, get back into the stock market. Now. That's because senior Republican officials say that the Dow will have to be back near 10,000 for Bush to get a second term.

Here's a surprise from a former politician: Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey is publishing a book. Titled Armey's Axioms, the book of rules for life is due out in October. We learned last week that it was purchased by Wiley for an estimated advance of $100,000 to $250,000. The subtitle is 40 Hard-Earned Truths from Politics, Faith and Life. Conservative talk-show host Sean Hannity will pen the intro. One insider calls Armey's book a "collection of pithy lessons on politics, power, the role of government . . . interspersed with anecdotes from his own years on the Hill."

Those popular Iraq Most Wanted playing cards picturing Saddam and his posse almost died in development. Officials with the Defense Intelligence Agency, where the idea was hatched, initially questioned the value since other intel tools like classified flip charts were already available. But they thought it a good way to put an unclassified tool in the field and give troops something fun to play with. Oddly, Central Command ordered only 200 decks, and they were delivered two months before the war began. Footnote: None of Saddam's cronies pictured on the cards were detained before Baghdad fell.

ABCs of AIDS
When Congress begins debating President Bush's demand for $15 billion to help Africa battle AIDS--which could happen this week--look for conservatives to demand that a third go to fund prevention programs like Uganda's ABC model. Reason: It's the only one that has worked, making Uganda the African nation with the lowest AIDS rate. That, of course, means it's controversial. ABC stands for Abstinence before marriage, Be faithful after marriage, and Condoms in risky situations. Conservative groups normally oppose condom talk but now say they'll help push the Uganda model if the A and B parts are included.

Former President Bush blames his son's stunning New Hampshire 2000 primary loss on two words he uttered during a campaign stop: "my boy." White House aide Karl Rove says the elder Bush was so "mortified" by the reaction that he stopped making public appearances. Critics used the comment to diminish the younger Bush's stature. But Rove reveals in a new campaign review that "we were going to lose before that day, for reasons unconnected with the former president's appearance, but to this day, you cannot convince him of that."

Daschle plot
Top administration officials have been suggesting for months that Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle

will change his mind and not run for reelection in 2004. But now they want him to stay. Why? His image is so negative that he's helping President Bush. The Winston Group, pollsters for Senate Republicans, says in a confidential memo that "when voters see Daschle on TV, their automatic response is a negative one." Daschle fans just want the Bushies to shut up and stop trying to make Daschle the issue. "This is all part of the Bush-Karl Rove delay and distract strategy," an ally tells us. "They are desperate to tie up the most effective messengers of the Democratic Party."

Free weights
A deal that gives House staffers a discounted membership--$15 instead of $54 monthly--to Gold's Gym on Capitol Hill apparently isn't good enough for some House bosses. They want a free gym on campus. The problem is that there isn't enough space to duplicate Gold's, located right across the street from one House office building. One option not under consideration: Let staffers use the gym reserved for House members.

Apr 30, 10:03 PM EDT

Bush Chooses Iraq Civilian Administrator

By BARRY SCHWEID
AP Diplomatic Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration has chosen L. Paul Bremer, a former head of the State Department's counterterrorism office, to become civilian administrator in Iraq and oversee the country's transition to democratic rule.

Bremer's selection, disclosed Wednesday by a senior U.S. official, will put him in charge of a transition team that includes retired Army Lt. Gen. Jay Garner and Zalmay Khalilzad, the special White House envoy in the Persian Gulf region.

Bremer left the State Department, where he was an assistant to former secretaries William P. Rogers and Henry Kissinger, to join Kissinger Associates, a consulting firm studded with both Democrats and Republicans that held top U.S. government posts. Currently, Bremer serves as chairman and chief executive of Marsh Crisis Consulting company.

Overseeing the transition from rule by Saddam Hussein to Iraqi opponents of the deposed president is a tricky assignment in which the Bush administration is playing an aggressive role while also declaring it is up to a wide diversity of Iraqi groups to choose a new government.

Newsweek first reported Bremer's selection on its Web site Wednesday. The report was confirmed by a senior U.S. official who declined otherwise to be identified.

The opposition groups have held two meetings and after a third one are expected to begin the process of transition at a conference of all contending forces. Secretary of State Colin Powell assured Congress this week that while the United States was playing a major role in Baghdad it seeks to turn over control of the country to Iraqis as soon as possible.

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, meanwhile, has warned that the Bush administration would not permit an Iran-style Muslim fundamentalist government take charge in Baghdad.

For his part, Powell has said there is no reason to rule out a government rooted in the Muslim religion, citing Turkey and Pakistan as examples of democracies coexisting with the religion.

On Wednesday, Powell told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that Iran had been warned against trying to infiltrate Iraq to influence the course of a post-Saddam government.

The overthrow of Saddam by a U.S. led military coalition casts the Bush administration in the spot of trying to maintain order in Iraq and helps sort out competing and sometimes conflicting goals of Iraqis who opposed the old government from exile and others who remained in the country.

During a 23-year State Department career, Bremer served as special assistant or executive assistant to six secretaries of state. In 1999, Bremer was appointed chairman of the National Commission on Terrorism by House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

http://www.hamptonroads.com/pilotonline/

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.