The tenure of the American civil administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, which lasted for more than a year, led to a series of fateful transformations that left clear effects on the country's present and future.

Since his appointment by the US administration on May 6, 2003, Bremer has issued dozens of controversial decisions and laws, some of which are still in force today.

Observers considered that Bremer's decisions during his rule in Iraq were the cause of the deep-rooted crises that the country has been suffering from so far (European)

deficient policies

Most of Bremer's information about Iraq was translated information and similar to tourist information, as he obtained it from American sources and some non-partisan Iraqi sources, so he did not have a complete picture of the country he was entrusted with the task of ruling, according to political analyst Jabbar al-Mashhadani.

Al-Mashhadani explains to Al-Jazeera Net that this made Bremer's policies in Iraq deficient and a clear type of hostility, although many believe that his decisive decisions were taken under pressure from Iraqi forces, and among those decisions are the dissolution of the army and the uprooting of the Baath and others.

It is likely that one of the reasons for the imbalance of Bremer's policy in Iraq is his lack of accurate knowledge of the country's conditions, estimating that 80% of Bremer's decisions were improvised, and most of them were reactions to what was happening, which Bremer mentions in his book "The Year I Spent in Iraq."

The political analyst expresses his belief that Bremer's policies have changed over time according to what was happening in Iraq, as the Iraqi parties opposed to the former regime that came with the invasion tried to influence Bremer's decisions and used all methods, including soft power through banquets, gifts, and others, and this applies their interactions with international organizations.

Jabbar Al-Mashhadani considered that the repercussions of the quota system made Iraq the leading corruption country in the world (Al-Jazeera Net)

Acknowledgment of the quota

Although Bremer acknowledged the sectarian quota system through the Governing Council and others, he did not establish that system, as Jabbar al-Mashhadani says, stressing that the Iraqi opposition conferences before the invasion of Iraq were the ones that established quotas through committees, distributing tasks and even sitting on the podium and the political agreements concluded on the sharing of powers .

He believes that "quotas was not a forced option, but a deliberate policy, as Iran, which embraced the Iraqi opposition, was planning from the beginning for sectarian domination over Iraq."

He points out that the repercussions of the quota system made Iraq the leading corruption country in the world, with its backwardness in all economic, security, military and social fields. This system excluded many competencies that do not meet sectarian specifications, and the state turned into warring cantons.

Mahmoud said that Bremer, during his rule in Iraq, hit many walls and could not get past them (Al Jazeera Net)

decline of the state

For his part, Kurdish political writer and researcher Kifah Mahmoud says that Bremer was not qualified in terms of studying the reality of Iraqi society and its history, so he hit many walls and could not get past them, so he made decisions that had serious repercussions, such as dissolving the army and the ministries of culture, interior and endowments.

Mahmoud adds to Al-Jazeera Net, "We did not see successes during Bremer's tenure in the administration of Iraq, and the evidence for this is that after his administration the decline of the state of Iraq began," noting that "we are still suffering since 2005 until today from the measures taken by Bremer."

He does not believe that all Iraqi parties view Bremer's term as bad, stressing that many parties have benefited from Bremer and view his term in a positive way.

Mahmoud adds that Bremer had a negative perception of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, pointing out that he wanted to abolish the military and security establishment in the region, and interfered in other affairs of the region.

Bremer's rule in Iraq for a year left traces that still exist today (European)

disband the army

On the circumstances that prompted Bremer to dissolve the former Iraqi army, researcher and security expert Muayyad Salem al-Juhaishi says that the decision to dissolve the army came with the agreement of all the personalities of the political process on the basis of which the Governing Council was formed at the time, and in agreement with the Americans and the British.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Juhaishi attributed the reason for dissolving the army to the Iraqi opposition that met in London and conveyed a message that the former Iraqi army is the Baath army, and they accused all its elements of criminality, and the dissolution of the Iraqi army was part of the process of overthrowing the former regime.

He believes that the best solution was to take the procedures in force in all countries, represented in the formation of a transitional government that investigates only those who committed crimes and those with high ranks in the party, and appointing other officers from within the army who are not suspicious, and this procedure keeps 3 quarters of the Iraqi army in its work instead. From dissolving an entire army and bringing in new elements and asking states to train them.

Al-Juhaishi points out that the decision to dissolve the army was counterproductive, as it pushed the officers and elements of the dissolved army, including intelligence, special forces, and others, to form the nucleus of armed resistance.

He added that the dissolution of Military Intelligence, General Security and Intelligence allowed foreign parties to intervene in Iraq, and led to the strengthening of terrorism that attracted some former intelligence officers, and their intelligence became stronger than the government's, according to al-Juhaishi.

De-Ba'athification

The Bremer administration issued laws to de-Baathification and dissolution of institutions in order to liquidate the political and social atmosphere for the rise of political parties and movements that came with the entry of US forces into Iraq, according to political science professor Dr. Asaad Kazem Shabib.

Shabib adds to Al Jazeera Net that after the issuance of the de-Baathification law, political parties and paramilitary organizations began to liquidate their opponents in various ways, including assassinations, arrests or dismissal from jobs, and these issues were supposed to be decided by the judiciary alone.

It shows that these liquidations caused the emigration of many Iraqis to other countries, and this included various segments, including pilots, doctors, engineers and those with rare specializations.

He stressed that cases of loyalty to the previous political regime were a policy that many Iraqis were forced to submit to, and it was assumed that political forces and all governments from Bremer's era until today should not deal selectively in issuing such laws.

Shabib stresses that Bremer's decisions - including the de-Baathification law - established the state of the political and social components, and there has become a clear sorting in all governorates on a sectarian or national basis, as it has generated a great and dangerous social rift.

Abdul Rahman Al-Mashhadani accused Bremer of spreading a culture of corruption in Iraq during his rule (Al-Jazeera Net)

economic decline

The majority of Bremer's decisions are still in force, and despite the amendment of some laws, the bulk of it has not been approached, especially with regard to economic aspects, according to the economist and academic Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Mashhadani.

He adds to Al Jazeera Net that one of the things Bremer was working on was spreading a culture of corruption. When he demolished and rebuilt civil institutions, he handed them over to people around whom there were many suspicions, and therefore corruption became rampant.

He shows that despite the formation of anti-corruption bodies such as the Inspector General and the Integrity Commission, they did not have an active role in curbing corruption that was established in most parts of the Iraqi state.

On the manifestations of rampant corruption, Abdul Rahman Al-Mashhadani refers to the law to abolish customs tariffs and abolish foreign transfer restrictions, which allowed the transfer of Iraqi funds abroad without accountability through the currency auction, which led to the smuggling of billions of dollars from Iraq in an official manner.

He continues saying that the agricultural sector before the invasion had contributed to the gross domestic product by about 16%, and today it has decreased to less than 4.5%, as well as the industry's contribution has decreased from 22% to 1.5%, only because it does not have the ability to compete with goods imported from abroad and the policy of dumping the Iraqi market Thus, agriculture and industry were destroyed under Bremer's eyes.

In his speech, Abdul Rahman al-Mashhadani considered Resolution 81 one of the reasons for the destruction of agriculture when Bremer dismantled the Ibaa Center, which housed the Iraqi storehouse of seeds that he had owned since the days of the Babylonians, and Iraq became subject to the conditions of international organizations that supply it with seeds.

Al-Aqabi believes that Bremer's rule legitimized many laws that are still in force until now (Al-Jazeera Net)

Contradictory legislation

The period of the civil ruler’s authority and the military authority before it enacted many laws that are still in force to this day, says Hussein Al-Aqabi, a member of the Parliamentary Legal Committee.

He explained to Al Jazeera Net that Bremer's authority, which extended until June 2004, was an actual authority in accordance with international law and its decisions enjoyed some legitimacy even if it was an occupying authority.

The member of the Legal Committee reveals the existence of multiple contradictory legislation, the first of which is the legislation of the occupying power, which must be amended according to the constitutional contexts in force, as well as the legislation of the previous regime, because most of them are inconsistent with the current constitution.

Al-Eqabi talks about amending many legislations, including the Bremer Financial Management Law, which was canceled and the enactment of a new law, as well as laws regulating the telecommunications sector and other laws on the agenda.

The reason for the reluctance to issue alternative legislation is due to the political and parliamentary problems that afflict the country and impede the process of legislation in general, and the legislation of the occupying power in particular.