Bremer and image

An interesting volley of info surrounding perceptions of Paul Bremer, who used to head up the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. He's been battling two arguments that have stuck to him like glue:
1. He instituted de-Baathification, stripping Iraqi public positions from anyone who had been a member of Saddam's party
2. He disbanded the Iraqi army
Many people claim these two choices led directly to the insurgency and the chaos that continues even now. Bremer, for his part, has been quite vocal in asserting both that these decisions were not his alone and that they were not disastrous.

His opening salvo was an op-ed in the Washington Post in May http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/11/AR2007051102054.html

Tuesday, the NY Times published a story in which he reacted to a new book quoting President Bush as he appears to say that disbanding the army wasn't administration policy. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/washington/04bremer.html

And today, he has an op-ed in the NYT, laying out his case in full. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/opinion/06bremer.html?hp

Bremer is using news media to engage in strategic communication, namely managing perceptions of him, the CPA and their joint performance in Iraq. How successful has he been? Does the average American care? Did you know who Paul Bremer was before you read this post?

(Incidentally, the best book I've read on all of this is Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone. Its author, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, will be on campus in October to give a lecture for the J-School. Watch for more info and go go go. He'll be fascinating.)