May 21, 2004 - On June 30 th L. Paul Bremer and his Defense Department bosses will hand off Iraqi sovereignty to John Negroponte and his State Department bosses. One thing is sure. Ahmed Chalabi won’t be Negroponte’s Iraqi figurehead if the raid on his home and headquarters is any indicator. We don’t yet know who the figurehead will be. We are waiting for the UN’s representative to tell us the names of the Iraqis who will fill the offices of the interim government. Negroponte will preside over largest US embassy staff since Henry Cabot Lodge reigned in Saigon.

Ambassador to the UN since September 2001 Negroponte comes to his new post highly qualified by his experience in Honduras in the 1980s. His biography in Wikipedia tells the story:

“His appointment to the UN post was a controversial one because of his involvement in covert funding of the Contras and his covering up of human rights abuses in Honduras in the 1980s. He is accused of sponsoring terrorism for supporting the Contra insurgency against the left wing Sandinistas the first ever democratically elected government of Nicaragua. He is also accused of inciting Contra attacks on civilians.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Negroponte

No matter who Lakhdar Brahimi chooses to fill the offices of the interim government of New Free Iraq they will be assisted by a corps of American advisors with desks in every ministry. The newest concession to what the United States and Britain are calling “full Iraqi Sovereignty” was announced yesterday. While the new Free Iraqi Army will be under command of America’s Central Command they will be permitted to “opt out” of any particular military operation.

One thing that the government of Free Iraq won’t have is a legislative body. It won’t have the authority to pass laws. It will operate under the decrees made by L. Paul Bremer and the Coalition Provisional Authority assisted, of course, by the imbedded American advisors and Ambassador Negroponte.

Negroponte appears well qualified to preside over the government of the new Free Iraq. He has the experience of helping to beat back an insurgency rising in the villages of Honduras while helping the insurgents in a neighboring country. He knows how to deal with the Iranians – or at least with their money. He is just the man to assist the Free Iraqis to achieve “Full Sovereignty” – American Style.