Iraq will be divided between the "coalition of the willing" with Washington determined to quash any objections from neighbours, reports Khaled Dawoud from Washington US President George Bush's decision on Tuesday to appoint Paul Bremer as the new civil administrator of Iraq, practically replacing retired General Jay Garner who has occupied the top post since Baghdad's downfall on 9 April, is viewed by some observers in Washington as a victory for the State Department over the Defence Department. Garner was the reported choice of Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy Paul Wolfowitz. When Rumsfeld visited Baghdad last week Garner summoned reporters to refute charges that he was too slow in restoring law and order. "We ought to look in a mirror and get proud, and stick out our chests and suck in our bellies and say, 'Damn, we're Americans," he said, underlining the attitude that had led to increasingly loud complaints from the State Department. But Bremer's background, and Rumsfeld's description of him as a "talented friend" has raised some eyebrows in Washington. Rumsfeld stood next to President Bush as he announced the appointment in a clear attempt to quash rumours of divisions within the administration. A career diplomat who has served under six secretaries of state, Bremer is a natural ally of the neo-conservative clique that surrounds President Bush. He was appointed by Ronald Regan as ambassador at large for counter terrorism and, in 1999, was chosen by Congress as chairman of the National Commission on Terrorism. After leaving the Foreign Service, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger picked Bremer as managing director of his private consultancy firm, Kissinger Group. In 2000 he became CEO of Marsh Crisis Consulting. The only overseas posts he has occupied have been in Afghanistan, Malawi and the Netherlands, where he was ambassador between 1983 and 1986. Following the 11 September attacks Bremer called for a more aggressive policy towards countries accused of sponsoring terrorism, including Syria and Iran, and repeatedly warned of the danger of attacks that would leave "tens of thousands" of Americans dead. Any advance in Washington's plans to reduce its military presence in Iraq and divide the country into three parts to be controlled by members of its "coalition of the willing" will depend on Bremer's success in restoring order and forming a new government. According to the plans, announced this week, Iraq is to be divided into three sectors: the Americans will maintain control of Baghdad, Britain will supervise the south and Poland the north. Britain has already held a preparatory meeting in London to discuss the composition of the force it needs, and a second meeting is scheduled this week. Poland announced it will hold a similar meeting on 22 May and has asked Washington to help finance the new force. The US will retain overall command of forces in Iraq and the troops will be almost exclusively drawn from countries that supported the US war. The door, though, remains open with Qatar (the only Arab state so far), Pakistan and India rumoured to have offered troops. According to US officials Australia, Italy, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and the Ukraine have offered troops for the future multinational force. Other countries that have offered support include the Philippines, South Korea, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania and Albania. France, Russia and Germany have not been asked to take part in the force. Meanwhile, a senior official told reporters that Secretary of State Colin Powell had made clear during his recent visit to Damascus that Syria must take account of the "new strategic environment" following the collapse of the Iraqi regime. Powell, he said, told the Syrians "what you're really going to be looking at is, you are in a new situation with your neighbour, it is going to be a different kind of regime, it is going to be democratically based, it is going to be a very close friend of the United States. Therefore, it is in your interest to have a better relationship with the United Sates, and to see in those terms." In interviews following his return from Damascus Powell said he reminded President Bashar of attempts by members of Congress to push forward a bill, the Syria Accountability Act, that seeks to punish Damascus for its alleged ties to groups the US dubs as terrorist. The US secretary said he received assurances from President Assad that he has already started closing down offices of "terrorist" organisations, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -- General Command. Spokesmen for the three groups in Damascus, however, said they have received no orders to close down their offices. On Tuesday Wolfowitz delivered a similar, if milder, rebuke to Turkey. After expressing frustration with Turkey's refusal to allow the deployment of US troops before the war he said that any new page in relations depended on Ankara's close cooperation on Iraq and also on Iran and Syria. "If we are going to have a new page, let's have a Turkey that instead... of saying 'Well, we don't care what the Americans' problems are with Iran and Syria, they are our neighbours,' let's have a Turkey that steps up and says, 'We made a mistake, we should have known how bad things were in Iraq, but we know now. Let's figure out how we can be as helpful as possible to the Americans'."
