Counterterrorism and Risk Management Expert Takes Over In Iraq

A former State Department counterterrorism expert and crisis consulting CEO will step into the fray in Baghdad. Reuters reports L. Paul Bremer is replacing retired general Jay Garner as the top U.S. civilian official in postwar Iraq. Between 1986-89, Bremer served as President Ronald Reagan's ambassador-at-large for counterterrorism, "a post that made him responsible for crafting U.S. policies to combat terrorism." After leaving the State Department, Bremer worked at Kissinger Associates, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's consulting firm. In 2002, Bremer was appointed to the President's Homeland Security Advisory Council. Bremer serves as chairman and CEO of the Crisis Consulting Practice of Marsh Inc. According to its website, Marsh's mission is "to create and deliver risk solutions and services that make our clients more successful." With an annual revenue of $5.9 billion, Marsh is active in more than 100 countries. According to Reuters, in a January Washington Times column entitled "Charting a course for war," Bremer wrote: "This fight cannot be won on the defensive ... So we must go on the offensive. To be blunt, we have to kill the terrorists before they kill us."