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Seems there's another huge revelation in the ongoing controversy over L Paul Bremer's recent remarks about the inadequacy of pre-war planning and post-war action. And it's one that has so far been overlooked by the media

In discussing the decision to de-Baathify the army, Bremer had this nugget:

“I don’t have any choice. I have to do this.” Garner then protested further, but Bremer cut him off. “The president told me that de-Baathification comes before the immediate needs of the Iraqi people.” When NEWSWEEK put this account to Bremer in a tape-recorded interview at the Pentagon at the end of September of last year, he did not dispute it. A former official with Bremer’s Coalition Provisional Authority also told NEWSWEEK on Wednesday that “he did this with the full knowledge of the administration.”

That's right. “The president told me that de-Baathification comes before the immediate needs of the Iraqi people.” And remember, de-Baathification is one of the most fundamental mistakes of the entire post-war occupation. Giving 300,000 armed young males a reason to hate your presence is not the best way to begin an occupation. Nearly anyone who knew anything about Iraq said so at the time. And until now, Bremer has always taken the fall for it.

“The president told me that de-Baathification comes before the immediate needs of the Iraqi people.”

Ouch.

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