# Posted 12:37 AM by Patrick Belton  

A HOPEFUL SIGN?: The WaPo runs a piece on the newly-named head of the interim government in Iraq, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, a former counterterror chief, foreign service veteran, and Kissinger consulting associate who is known to his friends as "Jerry." Now Lieutenant General Garner's superior, Ambassador Bremer has a background in the State Department and close ties to Kissinger which have both raised some concern about his commitment to building democracy in Iraq - most notably, by our own David (permalink bloggered; his post is from Wednesday at 11:39).

I suggest the first indicators, though few, provide several glimmers of hope. For one, Bremer seems to come to his job with the strongest degree of backing from Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz and former Defense Policy Board chair Richard Perle, who in turn are probably among the most committed proponents of a strong degree of U.S. investiture in a democratic Iraq. Wolfowitz and Perle would likely be more perfunctory in their praise if they did not believe Bremer truly shared their degree of commitment. Second, Amb. Bremer seems to have a much more subtle understanding of foreign affairs than that permitted by academic or professional strands of realism, such as Dr. Kissinger's. For instance, he was arguing for a comprehensive policy to combat terrorist networks and state sponsors as early as 1996, and in the private sector he displayed an acute understanding of issues of economic inequality and unequal gains from globalization within developing nations. Third, Ambassador Bremer will report to the SecDef rather than to State, which is heartening because the concentration of higher-level officials strongly committed to Iraqi democracy seems higher at DOD than in Foggy Bottom. Incidentally, he is also known for being blunt, hawkish, and decisive.

I'm cautiously optimistic. As far as it goes, this much all represents a burst of good news, and after a dispiriting week of hearing from Pentagon sources who are intimately involved in the planning of post-war Iraq that large swaths of DOD, recoiling viscerally from any tasks that could be called nation-building, were pushing to make the U.S. commitment as short and as focused on security issues as possible. Granted, the degree of commitment to building democracy seems higher at the level of the DOD principals than at the more bureaucratic ranks - and with as much of the Pentagon involved in post-Iraq planning as is the case now, my sources' impressions may not actually characterize the whole DOD perfectly. (Everyone's got their own DOD sources. Of course, my DOD sources can beat up your DOD sources....) Although in the end, all will of course depend on how effectively the new proconsular appointee resolves bureaucratic disputes under him and musters U.S. strength to build constituencies for political liberalization and democracy, from the first limited indicators it seems like Amb. Bremer's appointment may actually be a needed step in the right direction. (0) opinions -- Add your opinion