Meet the Man Responsible for Postwar Iraq

The Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, or ORHA, began its humanitarian aid operations in Iraq this week.

Working out of Kuwait, U.S.-led OHRA has sent 20 representatives to the southern Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr, where its stated goals are to determine the level of aid needed and to open up a dialog with the locals there.

Perhaps most importantly, however, OHRA will award key contracts for rebuilding Iraq.

The man in charge is 64-year-old Jay Garner, whose ties to Bush's inner circle and prior experience in wartime administration helped land him the job. But many feel that Garner, who has close ties to the defense industry and is known for his ardently pro-Israel stance, is the wrong man for the post.

Controversial appointment

"Currently the task of overseeing the transition to democracy in Iraq will fall on the shoulders of a man who was chosen by the Bush administration ...without a confirmation hearing or even a press interview," reads a statement from the web site, StopJayGarner.com, an international coalition of humanitarian and human rights organizations who want the U.N. to assume the main role in the war's immediate aftermath.

They go on to say Garner is "just the man to inflame Iraq and the region," noting that the former army general "until recently was building weapons systems now being used in the Iraq War."

Indeed, Garner is not only a retired lieutenant army general, but also the president of weapons maker SY Technology -- which provides technical support for missile systems currently in use in the Iraq War. His tenure from 1997, when he took the job with no private sector experience, until his temporary leave of absence, featured exactly the type of conflict-of-interest flare-up anti-Garner advocates fear will repeat itself in Iraq.

Biff Baker, a retired lieutenant colonel of the space command, alleged that Garner used his Pentagon connections to win $100 million in contracts for the company.

Garner, who denied any wrongdoing, countered with a defamation suit. The matter was settled out of court in January.

Insider's insider

David Kirp, a professor of ethics at the University of California, Berkeley, called Garner's appointment a "charming example" of U.S. indifference to the Iraqi people, and said it showed a lack of foresight on the part of the United States.

Garner is an insider's insider in the Bush administration. A longtime friend of U.S. Defense Minister Donald Rumsfeld, he has ties to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, and the powerful former chairman of the Defense Policy Board, Richard Perle. Garner shares their stance on the current Middle East conflict, and co-signed a declaration that stated that Israel has shown "admirable restraint" in putting down the current Intifada.

Perhaps with an eye on the controversy, the Pentagon has indicated that Garner -- who has been regularly denounced by the Council on American-Islamic Relations -- will hold the position for only a few months until he is replaced by a civilian figure.

Frustration in the Senate

Richard Lugar, the Republican chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, has expressed his frustration that the Bush administration has been less than open about the scope of its plans for rebuilding Iraq.

Lugar says the Pentagon has refused his and other committees' repeated requests to meet with Garner, and ignored their calls for more information. He and his staff have received only "inconclusive and not very comprehensive views" on Garner's plans, Lugar said.

"This, in my judgement, is a missed opportunity for the administration to communicate its view on Iraq reconstruction, not only to senators but to the American people," said a frustrated Lugar.

Previous experience

Despite concerns over conflicts of interest, Garner does have some outstanding qualifications for the job. His admirers describe him as compassionate and people-oriented.

Most importantly, he already has experience in organizing humanitarian aid operations. Among others, he was responsible for protecting the Kurds in northern Iraq during and after the 1991 Gulf War. This was an operation with a U.N. mandate, and the general is known to support the idea of cooperation with the United Nations.