Bremer’s two original sins

On the ‘Comments’ board to my Monday night post about which US government deserves JWN’s Golden Dunce’s Cap for culpable misdoing, astute commenter Shirin made a fairly good case that both Bremer and Ricardo Sanchez were strong contenders…
In thinking about her response, I concluded that nearly all of the mistakes, tragedies, and just sheer bloody chaos that Iraq has seen over the past year and until this day can be traced back to two major, and majorly mistaken, decisions Bremer took as soon as his hand-crafted desert boots hits the ground in Baghdad. He:
(1) disbanded the army without a fare-thee-well, putting 400,000 breadwinners with military training out onto the streets, and
(2) set about dismantling the national economy in the name of ‘privatization’, economic ‘liberalization’, and a number of other neocon/neoliberal fads.
So yes, Shirin, he has to be right up there as a contender.
On the other hand, I really don’t believe those were his decisions. Whose were they? That person, I think, is the one who truly deserves the Golden Dunce’s Cap.

9 thoughts on “Bremer’s two original sins”

  1. He not only put 400,000 breadwinners out of work, but he let them keep their guns! And not only them, but all of the parmilitaries that the U.S. hasn’t had enough troop strength to disarm! The mindboggling stupidity is enough to drive one into the arms of the conspiracy theorists–especially given the lack of accountability, communication, or anything resembling democracy here in the U.S. on the part of the Bush administration. From everything I’ve read, it seems like in many parts of Iraq, especially the so-called Sunni triangle, it’s easier to get your hands on a Kalashnikov than it is to find potable water (which brings us back, of course, to privatization).

  2. I agree, Helena, that it was certainly not Bremer’s decision to deconstruct and transform Iraq’s economy, including all public infrastructure (not just electricity, water, and phone systems, but its education and health systems as well), and place it all into the hands of American commercial interests. That decision must have come from the very top, and was planned well in advance of the invasion.
    Making Iraq dependent on American interests, even for its electricity, water, communication, healthcare (and transforming the Iraqi education system to better suit American interests) is a necessary step in establishing and maintaining long-term economic and thereby political control.
    When it comes to disbanding the military, I am not so sure that might not have been Bremer’s decision, though I doubt he took it and executed it unilaterally.
    Bremer is, of course, a political appointee, chosen not for his expertise, or even his interest in Iraq, but for his willingness to go along with whatever his bosses in Washington tell him.
    Unlike Garner (whom I didn’t like, but who looks good in comparison), who was fired, at least in part, because he thought Iraqis ought to have something to say about their future and that of their country, I don’t think Bremer is even slightly interested in Iraqis except insofar as they either aid or impede what he is doing there. I can see him sitting ensconced in his hermetically sealed life in the Republican Palace (how fitting, too!), thinking what a great job this would be if only we could nuke the Iraqi people out of existence.
    In any case, Bremer has been just like the proverbial bull in a china shop. Big, stupid, clumsy and oblivious, he charges his way around the place swinging his enourmous, brainless head wildly to and fro, shattering one priceless piece after another.

  3. Jacob,
    It is not that the Americans haven’t had the troop strength to disarm the militias. They are just fine with them as long as they belong to a group deemed friendly.
    They transported Chalabi’s thugs into Iraq last year, and have allowed them to operate freely ever since then. Talibani’s and Barzani’s militias operate freely, and don’t even get a tsk tsk when they commit daily human rights violations. Nor have the Americans found it necessary to bother the Badr Brigade. As long as these militias don’t oppose the Americans, they can pretty much do as they like.

  4. Oh yeah – those boots. Can you say great big fashion faux pas, boyzngirlz?
    Has anyone ever seen that show on TLC called “What Not to Wear”? I think maybe L. Paul (Jerry) III is a good candidate for that one!

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