Boston Globe Online / Nation | World / Tension seen on Iraq rebuilding
But Bremer has no experience in the Middle East, which even his admirers said could hinder his ability. Bremer's closest geographic assignment was in Afghanistan in the early 1980s.
''He's a tough guy, and this is a job that is going to require real strengths, but also require a very astute person who has a well-tuned instinct for politics of Iraq,'' said Philip C. Wilcox Jr., another former head of counterterrorism at the State Department. ''He doesn't have any background for Middle Eastern affairs, so I assume he was chosen because of his impeccable conservative views and his management skills.''
Meyrav Wurmser, a conservative Middle Eastern analyst at Hudson Institute, said Bremer ''was not like one of those ideological State people who work against the president, so people are basically happy'' in the administration's conservative circles.
Bacon said many nongovernmental organizations also will be glad to see a civilian not associated with the military as head of the reconstruction.
''The NGOs have complained that putting Garner in command makes it look like they are working for the Pentagon,'' Bacon said, adding that such organizations did agree to have Garner oversee the US Agency for International Development, which in turn directed the private charities.
Bacon said it would be important for Bremer to build some support in Washington for his operations before heading to Iraq.
''One of the difficulties here was that Garner didn't, or wasn't allowed to, brief his plans to Congress, or to meet with the NGOs, or build much of a relationhsip with the [United Nations] or the press. As a result, he never really explained his plans very well and nor did he have a chance to build institutional support outside the Pentagon.''
But Bremer has no experience in the Middle East, which even his admirers said could hinder his ability. Bremer's closest geographic assignment was in Afghanistan in the early 1980s.
''He's a tough guy, and this is a job that is going to require real strengths, but also require a very astute person who has a well-tuned instinct for politics of Iraq,'' said Philip C. Wilcox Jr., another former head of counterterrorism at the State Department. ''He doesn't have any background for Middle Eastern affairs, so I assume he was chosen because of his impeccable conservative views and his management skills.''
Meyrav Wurmser, a conservative Middle Eastern analyst at Hudson Institute, said Bremer ''was not like one of those ideological State people who work against the president, so people are basically happy'' in the administration's conservative circles.
Bacon said many nongovernmental organizations also will be glad to see a civilian not associated with the military as head of the reconstruction.
''The NGOs have complained that putting Garner in command makes it look like they are working for the Pentagon,'' Bacon said, adding that such organizations did agree to have Garner oversee the US Agency for International Development, which in turn directed the private charities.
Bacon said it would be important for Bremer to build some support in Washington for his operations before heading to Iraq.
''One of the difficulties here was that Garner didn't, or wasn't allowed to, brief his plans to Congress, or to meet with the NGOs, or build much of a relationhsip with the [United Nations] or the press. As a result, he never really explained his plans very well and nor did he have a chance to build institutional support outside the Pentagon.''
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