No Clear Favorite for Top U.S. Job in Iraq

[kskiska]

WASHINGTON, March 30 — It is described as the most challenging diplomatic assignment in the world, and the toughest to fill. Three months before sovereignty is restored in Iraq, the Bush administration is still looking for an ambassador to replace L. Paul Bremer III as the chief American political presence in Baghdad.

With at least 3,000 employees, the new ambassador will run the United States' largest and most complex embassy. President Bush is said not to have settled on a choice, but diplomats agree that whoever it is will need excellent rapport with Mr. Bush, American military commanders and top State and Defense Department officials who have feuded over Iraq for a year.

Not least, the new ambassador will have to keep uppermost Mr. Bush's political needs in an election year in which anything that goes wrong in Iraq could ignite a political furor.

"The first thing you'd have to ask about this job is, who would want it?" said an administration official. "I can't imagine a more impossible job, in a more nasty place. But you could make an awfully big difference."

more…
http://nytimes.com/2004/03/31/politics/31MEMO.html

[grytpype]

1. Pick me pick me pick me pick me

I will run Iraq AT LEAST AS WELL as Gump Whistleass Bush is running America!

[MidwestTransplant]

2. James Baker?

[yltlatl]

5. You're psychic

It's creepy how he shows up whenever Pappy starts crying about Junior.

[mobuto]

3. A completely impossible job

The military has failed to achieve the security needed for the CPA to operate effectively. The Administration has failed to give it anything like the power or the support it needs to function properly. The UN, which should complement it, has withdrawn from Iraq. And the Iraqi people don't trust it.

I really don't think Paul Bremer is bad at all, certainly not compared to your typical Bush Administration flunkie, but he really wasn't able to do much of anything given the circumstances. I wouldn't touch the job with a ten foot pole. I doubt too many other people would either.

[kskiska]

4. Don't laugh. He may just send Zell.

…Few in the administration can think of a Democrat with whom he might feel comfortable, or who would be willing to take the job, unless it were Senator Zell Miller, a former Georgia governor who has endorsed Mr. Bush for re-election.

[IndianaGreen]

6. Zell Miller is a perfect choice

He should travel around Baghdad on an open motorcade so that his new subjects grovel at his feet. :evilgrin:

[bemildred]

7. I hereby nominate Ahnuld.

It's a big sacrifice, but California will just have to give him up.

[mobuto]

8. How about Rick Santorum?

Not only are there Muslims in Iraq, but there are also some homosexuals. Santorum's just the man who can set things straight.

[bemildred]

9. Yeah, what is this shortage about anyway?

There are plenty of candidates well qualified to set things
right over there.

[fizzana]

10. Dennis Miller

n/t

[keopeli]

11. Kidding aside, there is a real problem here...

If you go in and make everything right over there (and there are plenty of people who can), you give Bush* a campaign advantage. Of those who are qualified, who would be willing to do this?

Think about it.

Think hard.

This one they can NOT mess up.

And, the result will be a complete disaster. When Bush* hands soverignty back in July, he prevents the next President from having the possibilities he has now.

I believe they will look for a no-name puppet and parrot, thinking they need Bush* to look good before the election. Then, after the election, they can put James baker III in there.

Unfortunately, this will further delay repairs in Iraq, and the potential for disaster increases daily.

Daily.

I also believe that 2004 will be a landmark year for the U.S. It will dictate the course of the next 50-100 years regarding world politics.

Keo

[Eye and Monkey]

12. "whoever it is will need excellent rapport with Mr. Bush" -

Perhaps that will be a requirement with a 4-6 month duration.

[Rex]

13. Whoever it is will have to be ready to cover up any sudden troop

KIAs. They would also have to be a "company man/woman", arrogant, and morally flexible when it comes to judicial torture of newly captured "terrorists". Someone who is corrupt to the core, soulless, unmerciful, tyrannical. Someone that had no qualms about killing or maiming rioters, then turning right around and lying to the press by spouting jingoistic babble. Someone who can give a sincere cry in front of the camera while secretly feeling petty and vindictive.

Yes folks, I'm talking about Barbara Bush.