Global Policy Forum

By Steven R. Weisman

The Bush administration, seeking to resolve a bitter internal fight over the postwar governing of Iraq, plans to name a high-level civilian to direct the selection of a transitional government and take control of other functions now overseen by the military, administration officials said today. L. Paul Bremer, a former counterterrorism director in the Reagan administration, is expected to assume the new post, the officials said, adding that he will supplant much of the authority of Jay Garner, the retired lieutenant general who has been in charge of postwar administration until now.

The choice of Mr. Bremer is a victory for the State Department over the Pentagon, and comes after weeks of what many officials say has been a sharp dispute between the two agencies. It also comes amid pressure from Britain, Arab nations and members of the United Nations Security Council for more of a civilian face on the Iraqi occupation. The decision has been tightly held. Some administration officials were so concerned that the move not look like a setback for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that they were considering having him announce it upon his return from Baghdad on Friday night, to make it look like a Pentagon initiative.

"The aim is to get some bureaucratic clarity and have basic government functions report to a civilian," an administration official said. "There's been some frustration over the way things have looked until now." A representative at Mr. Bremer's office, reached by telephone, said Mr. Bremer would not comment. The Defense Department has sought to retain control over the occupation, saying it would be more efficient and effective. But the State Department has argued that to command the respect of Iraqis, Arabs and those watching around the world, the actual running of Iraq should be carried out by civilians. In addition, relief organizations, especially those based in Europe, have said working with military authorities violates their internal regulations in many cases.

A glimpse into the interagency bickering was offered at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing this week, when Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was shown an organization chart indicating that the selection of a new government in Iraq was going to be overseen by an aide of Mr. Rumsfeld's. "This is not a current and accurate chart," Mr. Powell said sharply. "And it will be even less accurate within the next few days." The secretary declined then to elaborate, and so have State Department aides. But today, officials said there was some urgency to supplanting General Garner because of the rapid timetable the administration has set to try to get an Iraqi transitional government installed by the end of May. The new civilian director's precise role has not been defined, but some officials said General Garner would report to Mr. Bremer. It was not clear whether Mr. Bremer would be under the United States Central Command or have a line more directly to the White House.

The lines of authority are considered important given what some officials say could be the possible involvement of the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, in advising the transitional government selection process. Pentagon officials are adamantly opposed to having the United Nations play such a role, but State Department officials say having Mr. Annan participate might help in rounding up votes on the Security Council to lift penalties against Iraq.

Mr. Bush wants the sanctions lifted immediately, but many members of the Security Council are resisting. Russia, in particular, opposes the lifting of penalties for an Iraqi government that is handpicked by people working under an American general. The two top civilians working on a future Iraqi government are Zalmay Khalilzad, the White House envoy, and Ryan C. Crocker, a State Department official, but General Garner is nominally in charge. American officials said they had concluded that General Garner was not suited to overseeing the series of conferences scheduled in the next few weeks to choose an Iraqi authority. The conferences are expected to culminate in a meeting in late May to create an Iraqi government. These officials said it did not make sense for that process to be handled by General Garner because it would appear to many people that the resulting government was a puppet of the American military.

At the United Nations today, Mr. Annan met with all the members of the Security Council and heard complaints from several members that they were not being told anything about the future governing of Iraq, even though Washington wanted them to lift the penalties, according to a diplomat with knowledge of the meeting. "The differences between the Pentagon and the State Department are so acute that it's not clear who is going to run things," said the diplomat, adding that the anger and bitterness at the Security Council remained intense. An American official said, however, that Mr. Bremer's selection could clarify the process. Mr. Annan is regarded in Washington as critical to winning Security Council approval to end penalties. But the secretary general has rebuffed a joint appeal by Britain and the United States to send a representative to the selection process in Baghdad because of fear of angering Russia and other Council members skeptical of the American occupation. General Garner has won praise throughout the Bush administration for trying to help improve the delivery of vital services in Iraq, although progress in restoring electricity, water and sewage lines has been slow.

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