Paul Bremer's Iraq

In the days and weeks following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration tasked a little-known diplomat named L. Paul Bremer with the responsibility of leading reconstruction and transition efforts in post-Saddam Iraq.

Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) had near-absolute economic and political authority over Iraq, and as the highest-ranking civilian in the country, Bremer possessed the power to completely transform Iraq. His moves to de-Baathify the government and disband the Iraqi army -- commonly referred to as CPA orders one and two -- have been the subject of much debate in the years following the invasion. Many loyalists and idle Iraqi soldiers would go on to fill the ranks of the Sunni insurgency that would plague American forces in the years that followed, and many of them continue to aid that insurgency's progeny, the Islamic State group.

So is the current mess in Iraq Bremer's fault, the chain reaction of many missteps and failed measures, or does the blame lie elsewhere?

In "Long Road to Hell: America in Iraq," a one-hour special set to air Monday night on CNN, host Fareed Zakaria will explore this and many other questions surrounding the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq, and why -- as the United States creeps back into combat in the country -- it is important that America answer them.

Bremer has long defended his work as the head of the CPA, and during his interview with Zakaria claims that his so-called de-Baathification efforts were backed and approved by Bush himself:

ZAKARIA: White House officials have variously kind of pinned the blame on you.

BREMER: Not the president.

ZAKARIA: Not the president, but...

BREMER: No, the president hasn't.

ZAKARIA: No.

BREMER: Yeah, well, he approved them.

ZAKARIA: He approved them?

BREMER: Yes.

Critics often point out that Bremer -- who reportedly speaks little to no Arabic, and had previously served as the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands -- lacked the proper credentials and experience to take on the transition and reconstruction efforts in Iraq. In addition to his two most controversial edicts in the country, the former Foreign Service Officer also pressed to liberalize the country's centralized economy and privatize its oil industry, moves that have also earned him mixed marks.

The extent of Bremer's authority over the country, however, has at times been overstated. "As a practical matter, Bremer's powers were much more limited than they appeared. He had no direct authority over 98 percent of official American personnel in Iraq. They were under military command," wrote the authors of a 2009 report on the CPA by the RAND Corporation.

Indeed, Bremer has argued over the years that the U.S. military bears much of the blame for mistakes made in Iraq, and that his own calls for more troops in the country often went unheeded. "I assumed we would have adequate forces on the ground. We should have learned from Bosnia and Somalia that you have to have sufficient force on the ground to protect the people," Bremer told The Independent during the war's 10th anniversary.

Bremer also insists that his de-Baathification efforts have been mischaracterized, and that too little blame is allotted to the Iraqi officials who were entrusted with power following the invasion.

""We took opinion polls ... de-Baathification never polled below 95 per cent approval. The mistake I made was to turn this over to a small group of Iraqi politicians, and they then broadened it," said Bremer in 2013. "I think that hurt us because it gave the impression that we were prepared to carry out a really wholesale de-Baathification of the entire society. And that was clearly not our intention."

"Long Road to Hell: America in Iraq," airs Monday at 9 p.m. ET on CNN and CNN International.

Around the Region

The barrel bargain. Academic and foreign policy analyst Walter Russell considers one possible reason for the recent Russian-Iranian alliance of convenience in Syria -- oil:

"Both countries desperately want oil prices to go up ... They may not see an obvious path to that right at the moment -- Syrian oil production is not significant and the violence in Syria isn't affecting world oil prices. But both countries will be looking for ways to get the Saudis to agree to the kind of production cuts that could jack up oil prices. Who knows: perhaps they could cut a deal in Yemen (where the Saudis are struggling, but feel they must win) in return for price hikes? Or use power in Syria as a bargaining chip?"

Recent Saudi efforts to move in on Russia's traditional European energy market suggest, however, that Riyadh isn't quite ready to budge on barrel prices.

Bargain basement bombing. The Financial Times' Kathrin Hille explains how Russia is managing its military campaign in Syria in spite of the country's lingering economic recession:

"Low oil prices, a weak rouble, and western sanctions have caused the country's economy to contract by 3.4 per cent in the first half of the year and, as Russia relies on oil-related revenues for half of its budget, this has forced some belt-tightening.

[...]

"Despite all this, Moscow can easily afford its military operation in Syria -- both because it is cheap compared with similar endeavours by the US, and because 17 consecutive years of funding increases and an opaque budget have helped to fill the military's pockets, say defence experts.

"Even if Russia continued its airstrikes at the current level for a full year, it would use less than 3 per cent of the funds budgeted for national defence in 2016, according to IHS Jane's, the defence research group, and Financial Times calculations."

Clinton's Jordan jab. Recent remarks by former secretary of state and current presidential candidate Hillary Clinton about the long-term stability of Jordan have caused a bit of a stir in Amman. Aaron Magid has the story:

"While political analysts stateside have been dissecting the American presidential race, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's recent remarks have stirred controversy thousands of miles away in the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan. Clinton told an audience Oct. 7 in Mount Vernon, Iowa, that a final peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians is unlikely until both sides ‘know what happens in Syria' and also depends on whether Jordan remains stable.

"Questioning Jordan's long-term stability angered many in the country's political elite. ‘It's definitely an irresponsible comment and Jordan should receive some clarification on what she meant,' professor Musa Shtewi told Al-Monitor. The University of Jordan's director of the Center for Strategic Studies continued, ‘She [Clinton] knows Jordan quite well. It is very significant and worrisome.'"

America's "little Iran." And finally, BuzzFeed News has an interesting report on Tajikistan -- the country Americans visit to study Iran:

"This fall, the United States is sponsoring seven American undergraduate and graduate students, ranging from aspiring soldiers to diplomats, to study Farsi, Iran's native language, on a semester abroad.

"But there's one major hitch: The U.S. can't fund the students to study in Iranian universities. Despite the summer's historic nuclear deal, the two rivals still have no formal diplomatic relations. So instead, the U.S. sends Americans 1,000 miles east to Dushanbe -- the humdrum capital of the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan."

Tajiks speak a variant of Persian. The name of its capital, Dushanbe -- which means Monday in the language -- is believed to be linked to a once vibrant market held on that day in the old city.

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