The New Rulers of Baghdad: A Group of Mostly White Men Are Itching to Take Over

They were hoping to be in Baghdad by now, but for now they are having to enjoy the confines of the "cream-colored beachfront villa" in Kuwait, the temporary headquarters of the US "government-in-waiting" that is slated to rule the country once the dirty work of the invasion is complete.

Who are these new government functionaries that the liberated Iraqi people will be fortunate enough to take orders from?

The man chosen to fill Saddam Hussein's shoes is retired general Jay Garner.

Garner, who is now president of missile manufacturer SY Coleman, is a close friend of Bush Administration hawks like Paul Wolfowitz and Donald Rumsfeld. Just last week in fact, as the UK's Observer reports, Garner's company was awarded $1.5 billion to provide logistics to US special operations forces.

Besides being a stand-up guy in the Pentagon, Garner has another quality that will endear him to the Iraqi people. He is a fervent supporter of the most extreme elements in the Israeli government. Back in October 2000, he signed a statement proclaiming that "Israel had exercised remarkable restraint in the face of lethal violence orchestrated by the leadership of a Palestinian Authority."

Garner is only the tip of the iceberg. The Bush Administration has prepared a slew of American democrats like him to control 23 Iraqi ministries.

For example, who better to ensure the free flow of infomation at the Information Ministry than former CIA director James Woolsey (I bet he could teach current Iraq Information Minister Mohamed Al Sahhaf a thing or two about "information management").

According to the Washington Post, others preparing to rule in Baghdad include retired general Bruce Moore, retired general Buck Walters, former ambassador to Namibia George Ward, USAID's Lewis Lucke, and Reagan arms negotiator Michael Mobbs.

But it would not be fair if we did not mention that Paul Wolfowitz has tapped some real Iraqis to play advisory roles. One of them is Ahmed Chalabi, wanted in Jordan for his conviction on multi-million dollar banking fraud charges--the US government has picked him to be an advisor at the Finance Ministry!