Global Policy Forum

By Jefferson Morley

Who is governing Iraq?
The ultimate authority for the U.S. military occupation of Iraq is Army Lt. Gen. David D. McKiernan. The top civilian authority is a former State Department official named L. Paul Bremer III. Bremer replaced retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner as head of the Pentagon's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA). His mission is to administer the country on an interim basis and to provide humanitarian aid, rebuild damaged infrastructure and help establish a representative government.

Who is calling the shots?
Bremer reports to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and his top aides, Deputy Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz and Under Secretary for Policy Douglas J. Feith. As the Post reported in early May, "control of the reconstruction agency remains firmly with a tight-knit group of Pentagon officials and handpicked former generals."

How are they doing?
U.S. occupation officials are just beginning to assume their posts. The city of Baghdad was originally placed under the control of Barbara Bodine, a State Department official, but she was transferred less than a month later and has yet to be replaced. Southern Iraq is administered by Roger "Buck" Walters, a retired military man and Texas businessman. W. Bruce Moore, a career military man who saw combat in Vietnam and Somalia, runs northern Iraq.

Walter B. Slocombe, a Democrat who worked in the Pentagon in the Clinton administration, will oversee the transition of the Iraqi defense ministry. Peter McPherson, former administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development and a friend of Vice President Cheney, is the "financial coordinator" for ORHA. Former U.S. ambassadors Robin Raphel and Timothy Carney are in charge of trade and industry. The foreign affairs portfolio is held by David J. Dunford, a former U.S. ambassador to Oman.

How are they doing?
The biggest challenge for U.S. authorities in Iraq has been simply to restore public order and public services. Widespread looting and crime, as well as complaints about the slow pace of recovery efforts, prompted the Bush administration to bring in Bremer as the top civilian in Iraq. At his first press conference in mid-May, Bremer painted a promising picture. "This is not," he declared, "a country in anarchy."

What about the oil?
On May 22, the United States and Great Britain secured a United Nations resolution granting them broad control over the country's oil industry and revenue until a permanent, representative Iraqi government is in place. Philip J. Carroll, a former executive of Shell Oil Co., has been selected to lead the rebuilding of Iraq's petroleum industry.

What is the role of the U.S. military?
The post-combat force is big and growing. As a result, commanders of the 160,000 U.S. soldiers in the country are playing a leading role in governing the country. For example, U.S. commanders appointed the mayor of Najaf, the Shiite holy city in the south. In northern Iraq, Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the Army's 101st Airborne Division serves as "a viceroy," according to a recent Post story.

Are there any Iraqis involved?
For now, Iraqi leaders serve in an "advisory" capacity to the U.S. officials. The Bush administration has said that an interim Iraqi authority will eventually be established to take over from the Americans. On Bremer's orders, members of the Baath party have been banned from government jobs. Opposition figures have voiced concern over the U.S. intention to delay the creation of an interim authority. Originally, U.S. officials talked about putting Iraqis in charge in mid-May. Now that date has been pushed back to mid-summer. And Bremer has said that when Iraqi leaders are given authority they will have far more modest powers than originally expected.

Who are the Iraqis who will take over?
That is not yet known. In early May, Garner identified five likely leaders of an Iraqi interim government. One was Ahmed Chalabi, a former banker who heads the Iraqi National Congress and is a favorite of the Pentagon. Chalabi is controversial because he was convicted of bank fraud in Jordan, a charge he denies. Two others were well-known Kurdish leaders from the northern part of the country: Massoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Jalal Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Another possible Iraqi leaders is Abdul Aziz Hakim of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a Shiite group that fought Saddam Hussein from exile in Iran. A fifth came from a secular group called the Iraqi National Accord. Chalabi and the Kurdish leaders warn that Iraqis are tiring of the U.S. occupation and want swift movement toward self-rule.

What do the Iraqi people think of the U.S. occupation?
Among the Iraq people, many say they would like to see the U.S. forces leave the country as soon as possible. This feeling is especially strong in southern Iraq where most of the people are adherents of the Shiite branch of Islam. U.S. officials have expressed fears that the Shiite clerics may support the establishment of an Iranian-style theocracy hostile to U.S. interests. But representatives of the four supreme Shiite leaders in the country have expressed cautious support for a temporary U.S. presence, mixed with distrust of American motives.

How long will Americans run Iraq?
Unknown. Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz has said it may take longer than six months to hand over power to the Iraqis. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said recently that "anyone who thinks they know how long it's going to take is fooling themselves."

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