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The general waits in the wings
By Jeffrey Donovan
WASHINGTON - The man widely tipped to become
head of Iraq's new US-led civilian administration has
been dubbed variously viceroy, proconsul,
president-in-waiting and even the "sheriff of Baghdad".
Whatever you call him, Jay Garner has his work cut out.
The 64-year-old retired US Army general,
officially the director of the Office of Reconstruction
and Humanitarian Assistance, is set to lead Iraq's
reconstruction and efforts to create an interim
authority leading to a representative government.
It's a challenging task, and one that has put
him at the center of a growing debate about America's
role in postwar Iraq. Critics fear that the US role will
come at the expense of a central place for the United
Nations.
Garner is used to being in the
spotlight, however. In 1991, he directed a US-led
humanitarian mission to protect northern Iraq's Kurds
from Saddam Hussein's military. When his Operation
Provide Comfort did just that, Garner was hoisted on the
shoulders of Kurds, who gave him a hero's sendoff.
Twelve years later, Garner is back, a fact that
the Kurds, at least, are pleased about. That's according
to Mike Amitay, director of the Washington Kurdish
Institute, an advocacy group. "I think the Kurds are
very confident that he is going to do a good job. He is
familiar with their situation there. He certainly
empathizes with their plight, having been with them
during the Provide Comfort Operation. And certainly when
he returns to the region after 12 years, he'll be quite
amazed to see the progress that's been made. And I think
he, more than anyone, can appreciate how they can
contribute in the future of Iraq," Amitay said.
Not everyone is so happy. International
agencies, whose presence will be vital as soon as the
shooting stops in Iraq, don't want to be closely
associated with a military occupation force. Yet the US
and British militaries want to be seen as the
benefactors of ordinary Iraqis, and are already involved
in some humanitarian actions, such as food and water
distribution.
David Wimhurst is a spokesman for
the United Nations. He told Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty: "We don't see humanitarian aid as being adjunct
to military force. Armies that are fighting are parties
to the conflict. By definition, they are not impartial."
The humanitarian problem is just one side of the
issue. Garner, who since 1996 has directed a private
defense consultancy, also faces criticism for being
pro-Israel. Many Muslims mistrust him, saying that he
has accepted gifts from a Jewish lobbying group that
argues Washington needs a strong Israel to project force
in the Middle East.
Others question Garner's
alleged support for the exiled Iraqi National Congress
opposition group, whose members are part of the former
general's 200-strong staff currently making preparations
for Iraq in Kuwait City.
Garner has said little
about his plans for Iraq and did not honor a request to
testify last month before the US Senate's Foreign
Relations Committee.
Garner is also at the
center of a turf war between the State Department and
the Pentagon over who should have more power in
selecting the members of an interim Iraqi authority.
Garner's office is under the Pentagon, and he will
report to US war commander General Tommy Franks, but his
funding is controlled by the State Department.
A
Vietnam War veteran, Garner is an expert in air defense
systems and directed Patriot missile batteries used to
defend Israel from Iraqi Scud missile attacks during the
1991 Gulf War.
Some say that Garner's mix of
military and civilian management is just right for
postwar Iraq. Phil Anderson is a former US Marine Corps
officer and now an analyst with Washington's Center for
Strategic and International Studies, a private
think-tank. "That's the kind of experience base that you
need to get the job done. I just think that somebody
with his background is better suited to it than a
diplomat. I mean, you're talking about some very
practical issues related to restoring infrastructure, as
much as you're talking about issues related to restoring
government," Anderson said.
Anderson compared
Garner's role to that of US General Douglas MacArthur,
who led Japan's reconstruction and transition to
democracy after World War II. "MacArthur did it in
Japan, and did a heck of a great job at it - but that
was Douglas MacArthur," he said.
US President
George W Bush has vowed that Garner's office will seek
to hand over power to Iraqis as soon as possible.
Critics, however, say that Washington, if it operates
without the UN, will be hard-pressed to avoid setting up
what will look like a US puppet regime in Baghdad.
Others disagree. Nile Gardiner is with the
Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank in
Washington. He said Garner's team will work hard to hand
over power to Iraqis who are seen as legitimate in the
eyes of the Iraqi people. "I don't think it's really an
issue of imposing a Pentagon-appointed leader here. I
think it's an issue of negotiating very carefully with
various Iraqi opposition groups and ensuring that the
new leader of a post-Saddam Iraq has the full support of
as many Iraqi people as possible," Gardiner said.
A new report by the US Central Intelligence
Agency says Iraqis would not view exiles in power
favorably. The report was leaked to the press. The CIA
report finds that Ahmad Chalabi, an Iraqi exile who is
leader of the Iraqi National Congress, and Muhammad
Baqer al-Hakim, who leads the Supreme Council for the
Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a Tehran-based Shi'ite
opposition group, both have little support among the
Iraqi population.
After a summit with British
Prime Minister Tony Blair in Belfast this week, Bush
sought to dispel any notions that the United States will
seek to hang on to power in Iraq or will turn it over to
leaders who lack legitimacy inside Iraq.
"I hear
a lot of talk about how we are going to impose this
leader or that leader - forget it," Bush said. "From Day
1, we have said the Iraqi people are capable of running
their own country. That's what we believe. The position
of the United States of America is: The Iraqis are
plenty capable of running Iraq and that is precisely
what is going to happen."
Garner's office, which
will also run Iraq's oilfields, had its first taste of
Iraq this week when a team of some 20 officials visited
the southern port city of Umm Qasr. Their task was to
assess local humanitarian needs and set up a dialogue
with the local population.
Meanwhile, with
Garner's reported approval, British forces in the
southern city of Basra said they had chosen a local
shaykh (official) to form a leadership council in
the province, which has been beset by rampant looting in
recent days.
(© 2003, RFE/RL Inc.)
Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC
20036.
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