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March 28, 2003/Adar2 24 5763, Vol. 55, No. 31
Bush choice to rebuild Iraq too 'pro-Israel?'
MATTHEW E. BERGER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - The mission of rebuilding Iraq after the war has fallen to a general who has visited Israel and is being portrayed in the Arab world as biased in favor of the Jewish state.
The Bush administration has selected retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner to direct the Pentagon's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Post-War Iraq. He will coordinate the civil administration after Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is ousted, and will aid the transition to new leadership.
A former assistant chief of staff in the Army, Garner, 64, traveled to Israel in 1998 with the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs.
Two years later he signed on to an October 2000 letter that praised Israeli restraint in the face of Palestinian violence and urged the United States not to let its role as a peace facilitator hamper its responsibilities as a friend to Israel.
"Friends don't leave friends on the battlefield," the statement read.
The appointment of Garner has enraged some Arab leaders, who claim that putting a "pro-Israel" leader in charge of the reconstruction of Iraq will only feed accusations that the war is being fought for Israel's benefit.
"People in the Arab world are completely amazed by the Iraq policy, they don't get it, and the view that Israel is behind it all is one that is gaining strength," said Hussein Ibish, director of communications for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
The concern over Garner's relationship with Israel highlights the politically sensitive nature of regime change in Iraq, a country that has threatened Israel for decades and launched 39 missiles at Israel during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. It also shows growing concern about the Bush administration's plans for the broader Middle East, specifically calls for democratization of the region.
Ibish says bringing in an administrator who some Arabs see as pro-Israel hurts the chances for a successful regime change. Ibish said it is a sign that the Bush administration either does not understand Arab public opinion or does not care.
Jewish leaders are rejecting the charge that visiting or supporting Israel should disqualify Garner from service.
"If I were Jay Garner, I would be enormously offended that for visiting Israel for 10 days, I was disqualified from serving the American government in some capacity in an Arab country," said Shoshana Bryen, director of special projects for JINSA, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. She noted the large number of former military leaders that visit Israel each year.
Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, called Garner's support of Israel "irrelevant."
"Should this administration look for someone who is anti-Israel?" Hoenlein asked.
A State Department spokesman said Garner was an excellent choice for the job because of extensive experience with reconstruction issues in the former Yugoslavia.
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