It's a long way from Baghdad to Ketchum, but Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III is making the trek. The former American proconsul in Iraq—who was appointed in 2003 to represent coalition forces following the fall of Baghdad in "Operation Iraqi Freedom"—plans to combine business with pleasure on his visit to the Wood River Valley.
Bremer is on a book tour promoting his memoir, "My Year In Iraq: The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope." He will sign copies of the book and discuss his year in Iraq 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, at the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood in Ketchum.
He also is coming here to see his sister Meg Nero and her family, who are valley residents.
Bremer said in a recent interview from Las Vegas that his book signings tend to be set in large auditoriums, seating an average of 700 to 900 people. From Vegas, he travels to Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle, before coming to Ketchum.
Bremer arrived for the first time in Baghdad in May 2003, after President George W. Bush had appointed him coalition administrator in Iraq. Another thing happened that month to make Bremer a household name. Osama bin Laden, the infamous leader of the al-Qaida terrorist organization, offered a reward of 10,000 grams of gold for his head.
A graduate of Yale and Harvard universities, Bremer made a career of the U.S. Foreign Service. Like a hero in a Graham Greene novel, his assignments have been exotic and set in spy-caper locales, including Kabul, Afghanistan, and Blantyre, Malawi. He was an assistant to Henry Kissinger from 1972 to 1976; deputy chief of mission in Oslo, Norway, from 1976 to 1979; and deputy executive secretary of state and executive secretary and special assistant to Alexander Haig, the secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan. Reagan appointed Bremer as ambassador to the Netherlands in 1983 and ambassador-at-large for counter-terrorism in 1986. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1989, but continued to work with Kissinger at his international consulting firm.
A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, Bremer received the State Department Superior Honor Award, two Presidential Meritorious Service Awards, and the Distinguished Honor Award from the secretary of state.
"In 2003, Baghdad was being looted, major league. I talk about that in the very first part of the book," he said. "I was in counter-terrorism from 1986 to 1989. But it's a different situation now, much more violent terrorists. That's one of the main points that I'm making as I travel around."
While many Americans sat at home and second-guessed what was happening in Iraq, Bremer was repeatedly under fire both there and at home.
"It was very rough. We worked 18-hour days, seven days a week. It was rough duty. We were fired on every day, border attacks every day. Rather dangerous. Hard work. The people that worked with me were great," Bremer said.
"The danger was constant and never went away. There were daily mortar and rocket attacks, and assassination attacks on me personally."
As proconsul, Bremer had to deal with an Iraqi army and Baath Party members still in power that were loyal to ousted leader Saddam Hussein. Eventually, the former was disbanded and the Baath Party removed from government. Questions about these actions and whether they were done prematurely, and who gave the orders, have followed Bremer since his return in 2004. But he does cop to other successes.
"The most important thing was getting the economy (moving). The other was getting them on the path to democracy, and they really want democracy. But there are two different groups. There are the homegrown insurgents who're Saddam loyalists, The other is the international al-Qaida terrorists; they come across the Syria border and their stated mission is to install Taliban in Iraq. They're bad people, murderers, killers, basically targeting Iraqis."
Bremer's 15-month tour in Iraq was not without controversy.
According to the Washington Post, in 2004 Bremer said the United States "never had enough troops on the ground" and that "the single most important change — the one thing that would have improved the situation — would have been having more troops in Iraq at the beginning and throughout."
After saying Bremer had never asked for more troops, the Bush administration finally relented and admitted he had.
Bremer stated that there was a gap between the reality on the ground in Iraq and the information that the Bush administration was hoping to disseminate. Iraqi oil exports were meant to pay for Iraq's reconstruction, when in fact, the age and condition of the pipelines from bombing meant the United States was burdened with the expenses of getting the Iraqi oil business up and running.
"The oil production is up and down," he said. "We got it back to prewar levels within about four months. Iraq produced about 2 million barrels a day in 2005. It was down a little because of the poor state of pipelines, (but) it's not as bad as you think.
"And they benefit from the higher price of oil. Iraq earned enough last year to more or less break even on operating expense. If it stays around $60 a barrel they should earn enough to have $8 billion to $10 billion for reconstruction."
By contrast, the United States produced 7.61 million barrels a day in 2005.
"The thing that doesn't get through is how much progress has been made, particularly in the political situation and the economic situations," Bremer said. "It's been very dramatic. The per capita income has doubled, unemployment is down. And there's been an increase in women in the work force."
"My Year in Iraq" allows the reader first-hand insight into what went on during Bremer's 18-hour marathon days and nights. The frustrations and struggles leave the reader with perhaps a better understanding of the nature of the situation in Iraq.
L. Paul Bremer
L. Paul Bremer will speak, answer question and sign copies of his new book at a free event starting at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, at the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood, in Ketchum. The event is being facilitated by Ketchum's Chapter One Bookstore.
"My Year in Iraq: The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope," by L. Paul Bremer III with Malcolm McConnell; iIllustrated. 417 pages. Simon & Schuster. $27
