Profile: Iraq's latest 'administrator'

His is not a name people are familiar with. In fact, many will not recognise or remember what is reputed to be his outstanding service to American politics or diplomacy. I am talking about L. Paul Bremer, the ex-diplomat who is about to be appointed Iraq's "senior administrator" by the Bush administration.

The appointment, which is still in the pipeline, has raised many eyebrows among political pundits who are asking and debating among themselves why on earth would President George W. Bush want to appoint someone who doesn't have a clue about this part of the world, a man who has served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Malawi, the Netherlands and Norway and who headed the counter-terrorism office under the Ronald Reagan administration of the 1980s.

The question becomes more intriguing when one considers that from 1989 to 2001, Bremer, 61, led the internationally well-known Kissinger Associates and now has his own firm, Marsh Crisis Consulting Practice, with an important clientele.

So, why appoint such a man to a crucial job? Lots of theories are being bandied about but they all point to Iraq and the post-war reconstruction of the country.

But why appoint a new man when there is Jay Garner, an ex-general who had long been groomed for the job and is now on the ground trying to "rebuild" Iraq.

Isn't Jay, as he would like people to call him, not creating the right vibes? Is the post-war construction, which has hardly begun, proving too daunting, or is it simply that Jay is finding it difficult bringing together the different Iraqi factions.

Many would say it is all these things, plus the fact that not quick enough efforts are being made to bring the economy back on its feet - there are still problems of water and electricity connections as well as the lootings going on. The American occupation forces have still not "secured" the security situation and made streets safe to walk on, especially in the absence of the state and the dismantling of its institutions when the regime collapsed last month.

This is where the logic of bringing Bremer comes in. Although details of his personality and character in newspaper reports have been sparse other than providing the mundane biographical sketches, Bremer is seen as "blunt" and "decisive", someone who has the ability to "build bridges" and, hence, establish communications.

This ability is something he probably gained during his service as an "administrator" in government service for about 25 years and, subsequently, in private practice as a consultant. It has given him the right organisational skills as an "organiser" and a "doer" rather than a pure diplomat. In his resume, for instance, he is said to have served six secretaries of state, including Alexander Haig in the early 1980s.

Maybe these are the skills which the Bush administration is looking for to get Iraq back on in its feet, having instituted "regime change" and surgically bombing Baghdad and other parts of the country for the best part of 20 days or so.

Other observers see that the bandying about of Bremer's name in Washington circles has more to do with behind-the-scenes internal fighting between the State Department headed by Colin Powell and the Pentagon and Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.

It is argued that these two sections of the Bush administration have long been at loggerheads over what to do about Iraq, and now about how to rebuild and manage the country. The Pentagon and the Defence Department wanted to bring the issue of post-war reconstruction under its jurisdiction and appoint its own people with no questions asked.

Despite the fact that U.S. officials, including Rumsfeld, said they will not stay in Iraq any longer than necessary, their whole attitude was disconcerting, not only to the State Department but to the world.

Hence, the appointment of Bremer is being seen as a victory of the State Department and of the so-called "Arabists" there or the doves who are being accused of turning a blind eye to such regimes as Saddam Hussain's.

Far from being a dove, Bremer is a very close friend of the "neo-conservatives" in the Administration, Pentagon and defence establishment.

Although seen as a "straight-talking hawk", Bremer is a State Department man who joined the diplomatic service in 1966. Because of this, it can be argued that his mentality and probably his flair are rooted in the "rough and tumble" tradition of American foreign policy as represented by the State Department.

The fact that he will now be the boss of Jay Garner could create bureaucratic wranglings, personality clashes, or even leave the Bush Administration muddling through a country and state administration that is starting from scratch.

Henry Kissinger has been quoted as saying that Bremer will help in sorting out "the relationship between the need for order and the evolution that will take place towards a pluralistic democracy".

For Bush, Bremer's appointment should not be seen in terms of the classical perceptions of doves and hawks, or of military and diplomatic cliques, or of those people vying for political power and influence.

Putting in place a "civilian administrator", regardless of the tag of 'occupation', could be good for healing both inside Iraq and outside it. For Bush, it may also contain a twinge of self-interest, as he faces re-elections and seems to want to turn the wheels back to domestic politics.

As far as Bush is concerned, post-war Iraq requires much work and political support internationally. The administration wants to bring in those countries such as France, Germany, Russia and China, who opposed the war, to lend support to "post-war" reconstruction. It wants the United Nations to resume its "aid-supporting" role working under the U.S.

That's why, for instance, what is needed is a "skilled" and "slick" politician, rather than a military man like Jay Garner who has tried to follow a relaxed, informal approach.

One article appearing in the Baltimore Sun recently suggested that his looks and behaviour, the wearing of casual sports shirt and khakis rather than suits is not going down too well with the locals. The article pointed out that "Arabs of authority don't dress down, they dress up".

This dress code will certainly not go down too well with the Yale-educated Bremer. He will likely use his skill to try and form a government in Iraq composed of Iraqis both from within the country and outside.

Thus, apart from the immediate problems of getting the country going in terms of restoration of basic services, Bremer will be grappling with setting its political system on a new path to democracy.

And he is being chosen by Washington to try and persuade other countries like Russia to support the immediate lifting of sanctions on Iraq, which America was dead set against in the 1990s, and of America's new and immediate role there.

Of course, both Russia and France have vested interests in Iraq and, if political support is required and needs to be gained, then Washington will surely have to make good on previous commitments made with these countries under Saddam Hussain.

This is certainly the expertise Bremer is expected to bring to his job. His internation