Nermin Al-Mufti reports on the legacy of Paul Bremer, the former chief US civil administrator in Iraq When Iraqi National Security Advisor Muwafaq Al-Rubaie was asked about Paul Bremer's departure from Baghdad, he said few would lament it. "If he comes back, he will have very few friends to welcome him." Bremer, who left Baghdad last week shortly after the transfer of power, spent his last days issuing decrees and edicts -- 97 on June 14 -- that will significantly affect the development of Iraqi politics. Iraqi observers say that many will influence domestic policy, raising important questions about US influence over the interim government. One analyst suggested that such orders, deemed "binding instructions and directives for the Iraqi people" by Bremer, are meant to control the emerging political process. "The Americans want to control the process right from the beginning, to guarantee that their schemes in Iraq will not be thwarted by some anti-American force," the analyst said. The Americans will exercise influence not only through the 150,000 US soldiers who will remain under a UN mandate, but also through decisions, decrees and laws that encompass all aspects of Iraqi political and economic life. Most of these decisions will probably tie the hands not only of the transitional government but also any future-elected administration. Some controversial decisions include the stipulation that Iraq must be a single electoral constituency and that an appointed seven- member election commission is empowered to deny certain parties or candidates from entering the elections. "Any potential candidate will encounter real difficulty winning the election. Making Iraq a single electoral constituency represents an unprecedented situation in any given election," said one Iraqi politician, who requested his name be withheld. He explained that the commission would surely follow Bremer's instructions. Many believe, however, that if the Iraqi interim government is acting as a truly sovereign and independent entity, it should reject Bremer's edicts. Privatisation is another issue increasingly controversial. The "Privatisation Act" was passed in August 2003 and was intended to help foreign companies pillage Iraq's vital interests and resources. Little to no details have become public. The most important conferences related to Iraq's reconstruction contracts were held abroad to keep the Iraqi media away. Local newspapers report the loss of $20 billion from oil export revenues under the occupation, besides other plunder and mismanagement. All of Bremer's economic decisions and legislative acts benefit foreign companies but the transitional government now has a chance to pursue its own ends. "We should not be oblivious of the fact that most of the dissolved council members were and still are businessmen. They are the only Iraqi beneficiaries, if they are to be counted as Iraqis," remarks Mohammed Said, an economist who spoke to Al-Ahram Weekly. After Bremer dissolved the Ministry of Information, he introduced legislation that established an Information and Dissemination Agency. This information network was formed out of three agencies. All this took place after it was "proclaimed" that a democratic regime does not need a formal information apparatus! As Bremer departed, Iraqi legislators reinstated the death penalty, which he had suspended. Although Iraqi society is riddled with organised crime, the reinstatement of the death penalty does necessarily target crime. It is actually aimed at the former Iraqi president whose potential execution became a main story even before the commencement of his trial. Ali Jawad, a political analyst, pointed out that sovereignty remains nominal as long as the decrees and legislation introduced by Bremer remain in force. He questioned the viability of Prime Minister Allawi's national reconciliation initiative. Jinan Kareem, a professor at the University of Baghdad, acknowledges that what has happened in Iraq since April 9, 2003, is "very painful" and deepens the sense of humiliation and value loss that the Iraqi people feel. But Kareem cautions, nonetheless, against any rush to judge the new era, saying the new government should be given a fair chance to come into its own.
