Paul Bremer
Bremer responding to reporter during a Pentagon news briefing. (September 26, 2003)
Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq
In office May 12, 2003 – June 28, 2004
Prime Minister	Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum (Acting) Ibrahim al-Jaafari Ahmed Chalabi Ayad Allawi Jalal Talabani Abdul Aziz al-Hakim Adnan Pachachi Mohsen Abdel Hamid Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum Massoud Barzani Ezzedine Salim Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer Ayad Allawi
Deputy	Jeremy Greenstock
Preceded by	Jay Garner
Succeeded by	Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer (Acting President)
United States Ambassador to the Netherlands
In office August 31, 1983 – August 25, 1986
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	William J. Dyess
Succeeded by	John Shad
Personal details
Born	(1941-09-30) September 30, 1941 (age 70) Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Frances Winfield
Children	2
Alma mater	Yale University Harvard Business School Sciences Po Paris
Profession	Diplomat
Religion	Roman Catholicism[citation needed] Episcopalian (Formerly)[citation needed]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Letter to L. Paul Bremer

Lewis Paul "Jerry" Bremer III (born September 30, 1941) is an American diplomat. He is most notable for his role as the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority charged with overseeing Iraq's occupation after the 2003 invasion. He reported primarily to the U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and exercised authority over Iraq's civil administration. He served in this capacity from May 11, 2003, until June 28, 2004.

Early life and career[link]

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Bremer was educated at New Canaan Country School, Kent School and Phillips Academy. Bremer's father was president of the Christian Dior Perfumes Corporation in New York. His mother was a lecturer in art history at the University of Bridgeport. Bremer graduated from Yale University in 1963 and went on to earn an MBA from Harvard University in 1966. He later continued his education at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, where he earned a Certificate of Political Studies (CEP).

That same year he joined the Foreign Service, which sent him first to Kabul, Afghanistan, as a general services officer. He was assigned to Blantyre, Malawi, as economic and commercial officer from 1968 to 1971.

During the 1970s, Bremer held various domestic posts with the State Department, including posts as an assistant to Henry Kissinger from 1972–76.^[1] He was Deputy Chief of Mission in Oslo, Norway from 1976–79, returning to the US to take a post of Deputy Executive Secretary of the Department of State, where he remained from 1979–81. In 1981, he was promoted to Executive Secretary and Special Assistant to Alexander Haig.

Ronald Reagan appointed Bremer as Ambassador to the Netherlands in 1983 and Ambassador-at-Large for Counterterrorism in 1986^[2] (and Coordinator for Counterterrorism). Bremer retired from the Foreign Service in 1989 and became managing director at Kissinger and Associates, a worldwide consulting firm founded by Henry Kissinger. A Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, Bremer received the State Department Superior Honor Award, two Presidential Meritorious Service Awards, and the Distinguished Honor Award from the Secretary of State. Before rejoining government in 2003, he was Chairman and CEO of Marsh Crisis Consulting, a risk and insurance services firm which is a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., a trustee on the Economic Club of New York,^[3] and a board member of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Akzo Nobel NV, the Harvard Business School Club of New York^[4] and The Netherlands-America Foundation. He served on the International Advisory Boards of Komatsu Corporation and Chugai Pharmaceuticals.

Bremer was appointed Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorism by House Speaker Dennis Hastert in 1999. He also served on the National Academy of Science Commission examining the role of Science and Technology in counterterrorism. Bremer and his wife were the founders of the Lincoln/Douglass Scholarship Foundation, a Washington-based not-for-profit organization that provides high school scholarships to inner city youths.

Bremer and 1,700 of the employees of Marsh & McLennan had offices in the World Trade Center. Bremer's office was in the North Tower. In an interview with CNN after the Sept 11 attacks, he claimed that their office was located "above where the second aircraft hit."^[5]

Governor of Iraq[link]

Bremer arrived in Iraq as the U.S. Presidential Envoy on May 2003, and on May 11 replaced lieutenant general Jay Garner as Director of the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. In June, the Office was transformed into the Coalition Provisional Authority, and Bremer, as U.S. Administrator of Iraq, became the chief executive authority in the country.^[6][7]

As the top civil administrator of the former Coalition Provisional Authority, Bremer was permitted to rule by decree. Among his first and most notable decrees were Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 1 which banned the Ba'ath party in all forms ^[8] and Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2 dismantled the Iraqi Army.^[9]

On July 13, 2003, Bremer approved the creation of an Iraqi Interim Governing Council with the stated mission of "ensuring that the Iraqi people's interests are represented." The council members were chosen by Bremer from among groups and individuals which had supported the American invasion of Iraq. Bremer retained veto power over the council's proposals. The council was authorized to select a limited number of delegates to key Coalition Provisional Authority committees, like the Program Review Board.

Bremer also empowered the CPA to develop and implement of the Iraqi constitution. The constitution however, turned into a controversial subject, when its first draft submitted by the CPA suggested banning political parties opposed to the US occupation from participating in elections; privatizing much of Iraq's industries and natural resources; and allowing the unelected Iraqi Interim Governing Council to sign a binding Status of Forces Agreement between Iraq and the United States. On March 1, 2004, after several hours of negotiations, the Iraqi Interim Governing Council resolved the disagreements the council members had with clauses in the constitution. A formal signing ceremony was scheduled for March 5, 2004. As the guests waited and the orchestra played, the signing was canceled due to mass demonstrations among Iraq's population. The official signing finally took place for an interim constitution, to be revised or replaced by a second constitution after Iraqi elections, on March 8, 2004.

On June 28, 2004 at 10:26 AM local time, the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority formally transferred limited sovereignty of Iraqi territory to the Iraqi Interim Government, two days ahead of schedule. Bremer departed from the country on the same day. In his farewell speech broadcast on Iraqi television, he said, "I leave Iraq gladdened by what has been accomplished and confident that your future is full of hope. A piece of my heart will always remain here in the beautiful land between the two rivers, with its fertile valleys, its majestic mountains and its wonderful people..."

Bremer's office was a division of the United States Department of Defense, and as Administrator he reported directly to the United States Secretary of Defense and the President of the United States. His senior adviser Dan Senor served as coalition spokesman, working with military spokesman Mark Kimmitt.

Bremer's role as the head of the CPA is notable for being the subject of much criticism. Large sums of money have been reported to have gone missing under Bremer's leadership.^[10] Bremer's attempts at privatizing much of Iraq's infrastructure and mineral wealth were also highly criticized.^[11] and Bremer's decision to disband the Iraqi Army is widely credited for fueling the Iraqi insurgency against the American occupation.^[12][13]

John Negroponte replaced Bremer as the highest ranking American civilian in Iraq.

Post-Iraq[link]

This article may be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia's layout guidelines. Please help by editing the article to make improvements to the overall structure. (January 2011)

After his return from Iraq, Bremer engaged in a few speaking tours. On December 14, 2004, Bremer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W Bush,^[14] America's highest civil award for "especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." "He was also presented with the Department of Defense award for Distinguished Public Service and the Nixon Library^[15] honored him with the "Victory of Freedom Award" for "demonstrating leadership and working towards peace and freedom."^[16]

Bremer's April 18, 2005 visit as a guest speaker to Clark University, lead to protests against his role in the Iraq War.^[17] Dissatisfied with Bremer's speech and answers, several students also voiced disappointment at their university for having paid him $40,000 to appear.^[18] Another appearance, scheduled for the public library of his hometown, New Canaan, Connecticut, on January 18, 2006, was moved to the private St. Luke's School in the same town for fear for protests. During a February 27, 2006 public appearance at Lynchburg College, where his sister-in-law is an assistant dean, Bremer insisted that his decision to disband the Iraqi military was the correct one.

Among other things, Bremer repeatedly asserted that when he came to Iraq, the Iraqi army had abandoned its barracks, and therefore "there was no army to disband". He also repeatedly defended his decision to expel Baath Party members from government posts by comparing Saddam Hussein with Adolf Hitler.^[19]

On February 6, 2007, Bremer appeared before a Congressional committee investigating fraud and abuse and was questioned about missing funds during his tenure as head of the CPA and to respond to conclusions from a January 2005 audit report, including the missing $8.8 billion U.S. of Iraq's money and the chosen accounting method of these funds.^[20][21]

Bremer currently serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board for GlobalSecure Corporation, a company whose focus is "on securing the homeland with integrated products and services for the critical incident response community worldwide,".^[22] and on the board of directors of BlastGard International, Inc., a company located in Florida that manufactures materials to mitigate the impact of explosions. (Standard and Poor's Register)

In November 2010, Bremer joined World T.E.A.M. Sports, an Arlington, Virginia-based non-profit organization, as CEO and President. Bremer also serves as a member of the organization's board of directors.^[23]

Bremer is a member of the board of directors of the International Republican Institute.^[24]

Criticism and controversies[link]

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Disbanding of the Iraqi Army[link]

On May 23, 2003 Bremer issued Order Number 2,^[25] in effect dissolving the entire former Iraqi army and putting 400,000 former Iraqi soldiers out of work.^[26]

The move was widely criticized for creating a large pool of armed and disgruntled youths for the insurgency. Former soldiers took to the streets in mass protests to demand back pay. Many of them threatened violence if their demands were not met.^[27][28]

It was widely asserted within the White House and the CPA that the order to disband the Iraqi Army had little to no practical effect since it had "self-demobilized" in the face of the oncoming invasion force. This was revealed to be false, however, insofar as the CIA had conducted psychological operations against the Iraqis, such as dropping leaflets over the Army's positions prior to the invasion. The leaflets ordered the Iraqi Army to abandon their positions, return to their homes, and await further instructions.

Bremer was later heavily criticized^[29] for officially disbanding the former Iraqi Army. Bremer, however, contends that there were no armies to disband. He claimed that many soldiers simply left after the fall of Baghdad; some to protect their own families from the rampant looting. Critics claimed his extreme measures, including the firing of thousands of school teachers and removing Ba'ath party members from top government positions, helped create and worsen an atmosphere of discontent. As the insurgency grew stronger, so did the criticisms. Bremer was also in personal danger because of Iraqi perceptions of him and was henceforth heavily guarded. Attempts to assassinate him took place on numerous occasions - one of the more publicized attempts occurred on December 6, 2003 when his convoy was driving on the dangerous Baghdad Airport Road while returning to the fortified Green Zone. The convoy was hit by a bomb and gunfire, with the rear window of his official car blown away and as bullets flew, Bremer and his deputies ducked below their seats. No injuries or casualties were reported and news of the assassination attempt on Bremer was not released until December 19, 2003, during his visit to Basra.

During Bremer's stay in Iraq, the Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden allegedly placed a bounty of 10,000 grams of gold on Bremer, the equivalent of US$125,000 at the time.^[30]

Despite the messages the CIA reportedly communicated to the Iraqi army, the argument was still ventured that by the time Baghdad fell on April 9, 2003 the previous Army had demobilized, or as Bremer puts it, "had simply dissolved...." However, as Mark Danner reports in an essay in The New York Review of Books entitled 'Iraq: The War of Imagination' and dated September 21, 2006, American agents - including one colonel and a number of CIA operatives - had already began meeting regularly with Iraqi officers in order to reconstitute the army as a working force. Implied in this is the notion that the army - temporarily "demobilized" or not - did in fact continue to exist as a coherent entity, indeed coherent enough that it could be consulted and negotiated with. This seems to concur with the position of the first Director of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, ex-General Jay Garner, who Bremer had replaced. As Bob Woodward reports in his book State of Denial, Garner, upon hearing of the order to disband the army, attempted to convince Bremer to rethink the dissolution. Bremer was reported as saying: "The plans have changed. The thought is we don't want the residuals of the old army. We want a new and fresh army." To this, Garner replied: "Jerry, you can get rid of an army in a day, but it takes years to build one."^[31]

The issue of disbanding the old Iraqi Army found itself, once again, the center of media attention with two articles explaining why Bremer ostensibly did not make the decision on his own. The first press release by the New York Times included a letter written by Bremer to President George W. Bush dated May 20, 2003 describing the progress made so far since Bremer's arrival in Baghdad, including one sentence that reads "I will parallel this step with an even more robust measure dissolving Saddam's military and intelligence structures to emphasize that we mean business."

The second press release dated September 6, 2007 was submitted by Bremer as an Op Ed piece for the New York Times. Titled "How I Didn't Dismantle Iraq's Army", Bremer says he did not make the decision on his own, and that the decision was reviewed by "top civilian and military members of the American government"; which included General John Abizaid, who briefed officials in Washington that "'there are no organized Iraqi military units left'".

Bremer’s article goes into further about how the Coalition Provisional Authority did consider two alternatives: To recall the old army or to rebuild a new army with "both vetted members of the old army and new recruits." According to Bremer, Abizaid liked the second alternative.

Bremer also details the situation he and the major decision makers faced; especially when the large Shiite majority in the new Army could have had problems with the thought of having a former Sunni officer issuing orders.

Furthermore, a memo from U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on May 8, 2003 that said "the coalition 'will actively oppose Saddam Hussein's old enforcers - the Baath Party, Fedayeen Saddam, etc...'we will make clear that the coalition will eliminate the remnants of Saddam's regime'" was sent to both National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell.^[32]

After two protesters were killed by U.S. troops, the CPA agreed to pay up to 250,000 former soldiers a stipend of $50 to $150 a month. Conscripts were given a single severance payment.^[33] Many of the former soldiers found this to be grossly inadequate.^[34]

Charles H. Ferguson, director of critically acclaimed No End in Sight, created a video response to Bremer's Op Ed piece on September 6, 2007. (This was the very first New York Times video Op Ed letter in history.)

"De-Ba'thification" of the Iraqi civil service[link]

Saddam Hussein's ruling Baath Party counted among its members a huge majority of Iraq's governmental employees, including educational officials and some teachers. By order of the CPA, these skilled and mostly apolitical people were banned from holding any positions in Iraq's new government and public service. Critics claim these extreme measures, resulting in the firing of thousands of school teachers and removing Ba'ath party members from top government positions, helped create and worsen an atmosphere of discontent among those who did not "fit in" with the socioeconomic profile the Americans wanted to impose. This policy of "de-Ba'thification", now widely seen as having created bitter, new divisions in the country, and fuelling the violence that has torn Iraq apart, was reversed in January 2008.^[35][36]

Bremer was once again warned of the harm his actions would have. According to Woodward, when Garner asserted that none of the ministries would be able to function after this order, Bremer asked the Bahgdad station chief for his thoughts. "If you put this out, .... you will put 50,000 people on the street, underground, and mad at Americans," he replied. Woodward: "And these 50,000 were the most powerful, well-connected elites from all walks of life."^[37]

Management of Iraq's oil revenue[link]

Bremer was accountable to the Secretary of Defense for the actions he took. But, since his authority to spend Iraq's oil revenue derived from United Nations Resolution 1483, he was also accountable to the UN. The authority he derived from the UN to spend Iraq's oil revenue bound him to show that:

• Expenditures were intended to benefit the Iraqi people.
• The programs that were funded were decided upon, and supervised in an open, transparent manner.
• Iraqis were invited to give meaningful input into how funds were spent.
• The administrator of Iraq was co-operating with the International Advisory and Monitoring Board.
• That proper fiscal controls were in place, so that it could be demonstrated that none of the funds were diverted, or mis-spent.

One of the concerns the IAMB raised repeatedly was that the CPA had repaired the well-heads and pipelines for transporting Iraq’s oil, but they had stalled on repairing the meters that were necessary to document the shipment of Iraqi oil, so it could be demonstrated that none of it was being smuggled.

In their final press release^[38] before the CPA’s authority expired, on June 22, 2004, the IAMB stated:

The IAMB was also informed by the CPA that contrary to earlier representations the award of metering contracts have been delayed and continues to urge the expeditious resolution of this critical issue.

The CPA has acknowledged that the failure to meter the oil shipments resulted in some oil smuggling — an avoidable loss of Iraq's oil that was Bremer's responsibility. Neither Bremer nor any of his staff has offered an explanation for their failure to repair the meters.

Inadequate financial controls[link]

Failure to perform month-end cash reconciliations[link]

Under Bremer’s stewardship the CPA requested $12 billion in cash from the US treasury. Under Bremer’s stewardship the CPA paid out $12 billion in cash. The external auditors management notes^[39] point out that the CPA didn’t perform a cash reconciliation until April 2004, eleven months into Bremer's mandate, when they started their work. See Congressional hearing when Ambassador L. Paul Bremer and Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, testified on management of U.S. funds in Iraq.^[40]

Failure to employ qualified internal auditors[link]

In his second regulation,^[41] Bremer committed the Coalition Provisional Authority to hire a reputable firm of certified chartered accountants, to serve as internal auditors, to help make sure the Coalition's finances were administered according to modern accounting principles. These internal auditors would be separate and distinct from the external auditors who would report to the International Advisory and Monitoring Board. Bremer did not make sure the CPA hired internal auditors, however.

When the external auditors arrived, they learned that Bremer had not made sure the CPA lived up to the commitment to hire internal auditors to help set up a reliable accounting system. On the contrary they learned that a single contracted consultant kept track of the CPA’s expenditures in a series of spreadsheets.

The external auditors reported that rather than use a modern double-entry accounting system the CPA used what they described as “a single-entry, cash based, transaction list”.

Unaccounted-for funds[link]

On January 30, 2005, an official report^[42] by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart Bowen, cited by Time, stated that $9 billion for the reconstruction of Iraq might have disappeared in frauds, corruption and other misbehavior. On one particular salary register, only 602 names among 8206 could be verified. As another cited example, the Coalition Authority authorized Iraqi officials to postpone declaring the reception of $2.5 billion, which the provisional government had received in spring through the Oil for Food program.^[43]

Bremer wrote an eight-page reply to deny the accusations and stated that, during the IG's inquiry, Bowen's people refused to interview Bremer's deputies, and the IG's report failed to mention that Bremer and his people worked under extraordinary conditions, faced a high turnover rate, and had insufficient number of personnel to carry out their rebuilding and humanitarian relief efforts.

Bremer's claim that Bowen's staff made no attempt to interview his staff is at odds with the detailed account of the external auditors, of their attempts to meet with Bremer and his staff. In their management notes they describe how some of the CPA's senior staff, including Bremer himself, just would not make themselves available to meet with the auditors. Others, like George Wolfe, the CPA's de facto treasurer, showed a total lack of cooperation.

As head of the CPA, Bremer bears the overall responsibility for the CPA's hiring policies that led to his staff being dangerously inexperienced and unable to provide the oversight necessary to protect the funds they were administering.^{[improper synthesis?]}

This issue also became a topic of discussion during some of Bremer's Q&A sessions with students who attended Bremer's presentations during Bremer's campus speaking tours. Some questioned Bremer if he could have done things differently in Iraq, but were notably disappointed when he avoided the question. Bremer allegedly responded to one such question with, “I will tell you what I told them, I'm saving that for my book... I need more time to reflect.”

In February 2007, Bremer defended the way he spent billions of dollars in Iraqi funds after the U.S. invasion. In a prepared testimony he said that he did the best he could to kickstart the Iraqi economy, "which was flat on its back."^[44]

Progress of reconstruction[link]

One of the CPA's most important tasks was the reconstruction of Iraq's infrastructure. Compared to the rapid repair of Iraq's oil infrastructure — with the notable exception of the meters — the progress of reconstruction on Iraq's potable water, sewage and electricity systems was extremely slow. Defenders^{[clarification needed]} argued that this was due to the unanticipated volume and fierceness of those resisting the Coalition's occupation. Critics^{[clarification needed]} blame the CPA's preference for contracts with connected US firms; only 2% of the reconstruction contracts in 2003 were awarded to Iraqi firms.^{[citation needed]}

Shutting down the newspaper Al-Hawza[link]

On March 28, 2004 Bremer ordered the 759th Military Police Battalion to shut down controversial Iraqi newspaper al-Hawza for two months.^[45] This move was widely criticized as running directly counter to the Bush administration's announced goal of helping transform Iraq into a modern, democratic state. This move was even criticized by members of Bremer's own appointees on the Iraqi Governing Council.

Al-Hawza started after the removal of Saddam Hussein and was considered a mouthpiece for Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.^[46] It was shut down by the United States-led administration headed by Bremer on March 28, 2004, after being accused of encouraging violence against Coalition troops. There was discussion with Sir Jeremy Greenstock (UK's Special Representative for Iraq), about preparations to arrest al-Sadr, who by early March 2004 had increased his militia following, the Mahdi army, from about 200 followers to some 6,000, in seven months. Bremer wrote in his book that "Greenstock said that this would be a difficult time to go after him ... I first urged [his] arrest last August...".^[47]

Iyad Allawi, leader of the interim government, explicitly gave al-Hawza permission to re-open on July 18, 2004.

Granting foreign contractors immunity from Iraqi law[link]

Two days before he left Iraq, Bremer signed "Order 17"^[48] giving all staff associated with the CPA and the American government immunity from Iraqi law. One of his former top aides is quoted as saying, “we wanted to make sure our military, civilians and contractors were protected from Iraqi law.”^[49] This stipulation was later incorporated into Iraqi law.^[50]

Since then, violent events in Iraq involving American security companies such as Blackwater have resulted in great resentment among Iraqis, who view them as private armies acting with impunity on their soil.^{[51][52][53][54]}

Early departure[link]

Bremer's early departure was sprung on the world press as a complete surprise. But the turnover of political power a couple of days earlier was suggested by members of the Bush administration to thwart any plans the insurgency may have had for June 30.

U.S. intelligence sources had monitored chatter that suggested resistance elements were planning demonstrations, or outright attacks, to coincide with the time of the official handover. An early handover would preempt the plans of resistance elements.^[55]

Others read al-Hayat's version published one day after Bremer's departure. The Arabic language newspaper released a story about Bremer's alleged romantic ties with an Iraqi translator, who continued to work for Bremer despite their apparent conflict of interests. The Arabic language newspaper further details the affair stating that the Iraqi woman and her family left for Jordan three days prior to the handover to wait for their anticipated departure for the United States. The paper can be quoted as saying that close acquaintances of the "young Iraqi lover" knew about the affair with the top American official (presumably Bremer) and knew something about future marriage plans. The subject of Bremer taking Iraqi women as "wives" has come up before during his stay in Iraq. Bremer responded to a reporter's question about the rumor of marrying Iraqi women, "I have the maximum number of wives permitted by my religion".

His early departure was disruptive to the smooth transition of authority, as the KPMG audit of the Development Fund for Iraq made clear. In their management notes the external auditors describe trying to meet with Bremer, and being very surprised by his early departure.

Many of Bremer's senior staff left when he did, meaning that important documents, required for the completion of the audit, could not be signed by the appropriate staff members.

There are others, however, who feel that Bremer should have been relieved far earlier. "Bremer is the largest single disaster in American foreign policy in modern times," said former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. "Bremer, no later than September [2003], should have been relieved.^[56]

Life after public service[link]

After his departure from the US government, Bremer, moved to Chester, Vermont and became an artist, crafting oil paintings of New England country landscapes. He also as of 2009 reportedly did consulting work and served on a number of boards in the Washington area.^[57] He remained a media presence with interviews and the release of his memoirs, and criticized the Obama administration for not devoting more effort to promoting democracy overseas.^[58] He is also a consistent advocate for a continued US presence in Iraq.^[59]

While many other conservatives began advocating for a withdrawal from Afghanistan, Bremer endorsed the Obama administration's new strategy in 2010, describing it as "reasonable" and stating: "The President deserves credit for deciding to replicate President Bush’s Iraq strategy by sending more troops to the fight in Afghanistan." Following his return to private life, he also endorsed Samuel Huntington's "clash of civilizations" thesis. He stated: "It is a fact of history that Europe is based on Judeo-Christian values. But Europe seems unwilling, or perhaps afraid, to acknowledge this reality."^[60]

Quotations[link]

• "The new administration seems to be paying no attention to the problem of terrorism. What they will do is stagger along until there's a major incident and then suddenly say, `Oh, my God, shouldn't we be organized to deal with this?'" (February 26, 2001, speaking at a McCormick Tribune Foundation conference on terrorism)
• "...there are reasons why some people turn to terrorism. There are political reasons, there are economic reasons. Some people are simply criminals...."^[61]
• "Ladies and gentlemen... we got him!" (December 14, 2003, announcing the capture of Saddam Hussein)
• "If you don’t know what you stand for, you cannot easily figure out how to defend it." (Interview, Bellum: A Project of The Stanford Review, March 18, 2010)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• L. Paul Bremer & Malcolm McConnell: My Year In Iraq: The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope, 1st edn. (Canada: Simon & Schuster, January 2006). ISBN 0-7432-7389-3 and ISBN 978-0-7432-7389-3.

External links[link]

• "Baghdad year zero: Pillaging Iraq in pursuit of a neocon utopia", Naomi Klein, September 2004
• Paul Bremer profile, NNDB
• Paul Bremer timeline at the History Commons
• CPA Bios
• Bremer's Tale: The Top American in Iraq, NPR Fresh Air from WHYY (Audio), January 10, 2006
• CPA Reunion Party January 14, 2006
• "Frontline: the lost year in iraq |PBS" 2006
• What has happened to Iraq's missing $1bn?, The Independent, September 19, 2005
• My sadness at the privatisation of Iraq, Times Online, August 12, 2005
• Former Bush aide turns critic as Iraq inspector, Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2005—Contains another perspective on the conflict between Bremer and Inspector General Bowen
• Iraq reconstruction riddled with waste, audits find The Seattle Times, July 4, 2005
• Ave Maria University Commencement Address, June 19, 2005
• Bremer Speaks at Clark University Worcester IMC April 19, 2005
• Bremer, students spar The Bowdoin Orient, April 15, 2005
• Bremer explains, defends Iraq war Brunswick Times Record, April 11, 2005
• Oversight of Funds Provided to the Iraqi Ministries through the National Budget Process report from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction that documents the unaccounted for $9 billion
• TD Waterhouse Keynote Address @ IA Conference American Rhetoric February 4, 2005
• Transcript: Paul Bremer, Former U.S. Administrator in Iraq Fox News July 6, 2004
• Paul Bremer's Rough Ride TIMES Archive June 28, 2004
• Bremer Answers QuestionsUSAToday June 17, 2004
• In Iraq, the Job Opportunity of a Lifetime Washington Post, May 22, 2004 (about young volunteers hired by the Pentagon to handle financial tasks in Iraq)
• Racing the Clock in IraqNewsweek February 9, 2004
• Letter From Baghdad, War After the War The New Yorker November 2003
• "Online NewsHour" Interview September 24, 2003
• Frontline Interview with L. Paul Bremer August 1, 2003
• Faith Gives Him Strength, June 19, 2003
• How Should America Address Terrorist Aggression, CNN television interview September 14, 2001
• Countering the Changing Threat of International Terrorism A Presentation by Ambassador L. Paul Bremer The Nixon Center July 19, 2000
• Global Threat, pbs interview of L. Paul Bremer, III and former CIA official Larry Johnson, June 6, 2000
• Terrorism: its evolving nature - by L. Paul Bremer, III US Dept. of State Bulletin May 1989

Norah Jones
Jones at Bright Eyes at Town Hall, May 29, 2007
Background information
Birth name	Geethali Norah Jones Shankar
Born	(1979-03-30) March 30, 1979 (age 33) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, blues, pop, folk, country, vocal jazz, soul, roots rock, alternative rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician, actress
Instruments	Vocals, piano/keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, saxophone
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Blue Note
Associated acts	The Little Willies, El Madmo, Liberation Prophecy, Wax Poetic, Peter Malick, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, Q-Tip, Peeping Tom
Website	norahjones.com

Norah Jones^[1] (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress. She is the daughter of Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. She is also the paternal half-sister of Anoushka Shankar.^[2]

In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, a fusion of jazz, pop, and country music, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies.^[3][4][5] The record earned Jones five Grammy Awards, including the Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist.^[6] Her subsequent studio albums, Feels Like Home, released in 2004, Not Too Late, released in 2007, the same year she made her film debut in My Blueberry Nights, and her 2009 release The Fall all gained Platinum status after selling over a million copies^[4] and were generally well received by critics.^[3] Jones' fifth studio album, Little Broken Hearts was released on April 27, 2012.

Jones has won nine Grammy Awards and was Billboard magazine's 60th-best-selling music artist of the 2000–2009 decade.^[7] Throughout her career, Jones has won numerous awards and has sold over 40 million albums worldwide.^[8] Billboard named her the top jazz artist of the 2000–2009 decade, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time.

Early life[link]

Born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York to Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar and American concert producer Sue Jones.^[5] After her parents' separation in 1986, Jones spent her childhood with her mother in the Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, Texas. She attended Colleyville Middle School and Grapevine High School before transferring to Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. While in high school, Jones sang in the school choir, participated in band and played the alto saxophone. At the age of sixteen, with her parents' consent, she officially changed her name to Norah Jones.^[1][9]

Jones always had an affinity for the music of Bill Evans and Billie Holiday, among other 'oldies'. She once said, "My mom had this eight-album Billie Holiday set; I picked out one disc that I liked and played that over and over again."

She began singing in church choirs and took piano lessons as a child. She still attends church. She considers herself spiritual and appreciates the rituals of her church but does not consider herself the religious type.^[10]

She attended Interlochen Center for the Arts during the summers. While at high school, she won the DownBeat Student Music Awards for Best Jazz Vocalist (twice, in 1996 and 1997) and Best Original Composition (1996).^[11]

Jones attended the University of North Texas (UNT), where she majored in jazz piano and sang with the UNT Jazz Singers. During this time, she had a chance meeting with future collaborator Jesse Harris. She gave a ride to a band playing at the university whose members happened to be friends of Harris. He was on a cross-country road-trip with friend and future Little Willies member, Richard Julian, and stopped to see the band play. After meeting Jones, Harris started sending her lead sheets of his songs. In 1999, she left for New York City. Less than a year later, she started a band with Harris, which made her famous.^[12]

Musical career[link]

[edit] 2001–2004: First Sessions and Come Away with Me

Jones moved to New York City and signed to Blue Note Records, a label owned by EMI Group. The signing came as an indirect result of Jones performing background vocals for singer-songwriter Victoria Williams.^[13] Shell White, the wife of Williams' producer JC Hopkins, worked in Blue Note's royalties department and passed Jones's 3-track demo on to the label's president Bruce Lundvall and its A&R Brian Bacchus. The demo featured two jazz standards and a song by Jesse Harris.^[13] Lundvall and Bacchus immediately agreed Jones had great potential and although initially unsure about what direction her music would follow, particularly since Blue Note was a jazz label, they nevertheless decided to sign Jones. Bacchus told HitQuarters: "We let her find her own direction ... We knew that if she could develop her songwriting and we could find great songs, it would work."^[13]

Jones was first teamed up with experienced producer and engineer Jay Newland. Bacchus thought that Newland's experience in jazz, blues, rock, country and folk would give him a "feeling for her sound".^[13] Together they cut around nine demo tracks, of which six formed her debut Blue Note release, the sampler First Sessions, while the rest were set aside for her debut album.^[13] "First Sessions" was released in 2001.

Jones was a lounge singer before becoming a recording artist.^[14] Prior to releasing her first album, she performed with Wax Poetic, Peter Malick and jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter.^[15][16][17]

Released in February 2002 debut album, Jones' Come Away with Me, was celebrated for its blending of mellow, acoustic pop with soul and jazz. Debuting at #139, it reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200. The single "Don't Know Why" hit #1 on the Top 40 Adult Recurrents in 2003 and #30 in the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart.

In 2003, she won five Grammy Awards, which were Best New Artist, Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for the album and Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the single "Don't Know Why" at the 45th Grammy Awards. This matched the record for most Grammy wins by a female artist in a single night (tying with Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys). That night, Jesse Harris won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for composing "Don't Know Why", Arif Mardin won Producer of the Year, primarily for his work on Come Away With Me, and the album also received the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.^[5][6]

The album received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America on August 22, 2002, and went on to become a diamond album on February 15, 2005.^[18] It remains Blue Note's biggest-selling album.^[5]

[edit] 2004–2006: Feels Like Home and collaboration with Ray Charles

Jones released her second album, Feels Like Home, on February 9, 2004. It was influenced by country music. Within a week of its release, Feels Like Home had sold over a million copies. It sold 4 million copies in the United States and reached quadruple Platinum status, selling ten million copies worldwide. Jones toured globally, promoting the album with the Handsome Band, and backing singer Daru Oda.

Time magazine included Jones on the Time 100, a list of the most influential people of 2004.^[19] The album debuted at number one in at least 16 countries around the world.^[20]

In 2005, at the 47th Grammy Awards, Feels Like Home was nominated for three Grammys. It won for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Sunrise", and had nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for her duet with Dolly Parton, "Creepin 'In".^[21]

She won two more Grammy Awards that year, for Record of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for her collaboration with Ray Charles, "Here We Go Again", which was the first track on Charles' last album, Genius Loves Company. Genius Loves Company won the Album of the Year award.^[22]

[edit] 2007–2008: Not Too Late and Film debut

Jones in 2007

Jones released her third album, Not Too Late, on January 30, 2007. The album was her first for which she wrote or co-wrote every song, and according to her, some of them are much darker than those on her previous albums.^[23] Not Too Late was mostly recorded at Jones's home studio and is her first album without producer Arif Mardin, who had died in the summer of 2006. Jones described the sessions as "fun, relaxed and easy" and without a deadline; Blue Note executives reportedly did not know she was recording an album. The song "My Dear Country" is political commentary; she wrote it before the United States Presidential election day in 2004.

Not Too Late reached the #1 position in twenty countries. Not Too Late had the third-best first week of sales in 2007, behind Avril Lavigne's The Best Damn Thing and Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight. It reached #1 in the U.S., selling 405,000 copies. EMI announced that Not Too Late reached gold, platinum or multi-platinum in 21 countries as of February 2007.^[24] The album has sold 4 million copies worldwide.

By 2007, Jones had sold over 36 million albums worldwide.^{[citation needed]}

Jones made her film debut in 2007 in the romance/drama film My Blueberry Nights, directed by Wong Kar Wai, co-starring Jude Law, David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz and Natalie Portman. Jones as Elizabeth is a young woman who goes on a soul-searching journey across America to resolve her questions about love, and finds along the way a series of curious characters. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2007 and United States in April 2008, It went on to gross more than $21,967,587 worldwide.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 2009–2011: The Fall and ...Featuring

Jones's fourth studio album, The Fall, debuted at number three in November 2009, selling 180,000 copies in its first week. It was Jones's first album to not reach #1 in the United States. The album received critical acclaim.^[25] As part of the promotional drive for the album, she performed on Dancing with the Stars, Late Show with David Letterman, Good Morning America and other television programs.

"The Fall," featured the Saint Bernard, Ben, on the cover.

The album's lead single, "Chasing Pirates", peaked at #13 on Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks and #7 on Jazz Songs.

Billboard's 2000–2009 decade awards ranked her as the top Jazz recording artist, at #60 best Artist. Come Away With Me was elected the #4 album and #1 jazz album. Jones earned a platinum certification by the RIAA for sales of 1 million copies of The Fall. The album sold 1.5 million copies worldwide and was certified gold or platinum in 14 countries as of 2010. "Baby, It's Cold Outside", a duet with Willie Nelson, was nominated in the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals category.

Her fourth world tour began March 5, 2010.

Jones released ...Featuring, a compilation album of collaborations she has done with well-known musicians, including the Foo Fighters, Willie Nelson, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Outkast, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Belle and Sebastian, Ray Charles, Ryan Adams, Dolly Parton, Herbie Hancock, M. Ward, and others. Jones said, “It's so exciting and flattering and fun when I get asked to sing with somebody that I admire...It takes you a little bit out of your comfort zone when you're doing something with another artist. You don't know what to expect—it's kind of like being a little kid and having a playdate.” The 18-track Blue Note disc was released on November 16, 2010.^[26]

Jones recorded a Christmas duet Home for the Holidays^{[disambiguation needed ]} with Cyndi Lauper.

[edit] 2012–present: Little Broken Hearts

After working with Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi on some of the tracks of their album, Rome, Jones teamed up with Danger Mouse for her fifth studio album Little Broken Hearts, which was released on May 1, 2012.^[27] Jones played the album at SXSW 2012 in its entirety.^[28] American Songwriter has referred to Little Broken Hearts as the "most dramatic and rewarding departure she’s made in her career."^[29]

Additional projects and collaborations[link]

Jones and jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter covered the Roxy Music song More Than This for Hunter's 2001 album Songs from the Analog Playground.^[30]

Jones made a cameo appearance as herself in the 2002 movie Two Weeks Notice which starred Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock. The film shows her briefly at the piano, singing for a charity benefit.^[31]

Jones appears on the track "Ruler of My Heart" (a cover of an Irma Thomas song), on the 2002 Dirty Dozen Brass Band album, Medicated Magic.^[32]

Norah Jones playing at the Blaisdell Arena.

In the latter part of 2003, rumors emerged that veteran Indian filmmaker Dev Anand was planning to make the film Song of Life, inspired by Jones's troubled relationship with her father, Ravi Shankar. Both Jones and Shankar were enraged by the rumors. Jones commented, "[Anand] has no idea of our story, and he's not going to represent it in a truthful way, I'm sure. It's sad because it's personal stuff and nobody's business but ours."^[5]

Jones appeared on OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below album, on "Take Off Your Cool". This album won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year (Jones was not credited).

Jones appeared in the 2004 special Sesame Street Presents: The Street We Live On.^[33]

Jones appeared on Ray Charles' final album, Genius Loves Company, in 2004, on "Here We Go Again".

Jones formed The Little Willies in 2003 alongside Richard Julian on vocals, Jim Campilongo on guitar, Lee Alexander on bass, and Dan Rieser on drums. The alt country band released its eponymous first album in 2006 and a sophomore set, "For the Good Times" in 2012.^[34]

Jones has done three Grammy-nominated duets with Willie Nelson: "Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want To Get Over You)" in 2003,^[35] "Dreams Come True" in 2005^[36] and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" in 2009.^[37]

In 2005, Jones appeared on the Foo Fighters' album In Your Honor, performing piano and vocals on the song "Virginia Moon".^[38] The track was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, in 2006.

Jones appeared on Ryan Adams' & The Cardinals' 2005 album, Jacksonville City Nights on the track, which she co-wrote with Adams, "Dear John".^[39]

Jones worked with Mike Patton in 2006 providing vocals on the track "Sucker" on the Peeping Tom project. The song attracted attention as it was the first time Jones used profanity in a recording.^[40]

In 2007, Jones made her acting debut as the protagonist in a film directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film, My Blueberry Nights, opened for the 2007 Cannes Film Festival as one of the 22 films in competition.^[41] She wrote and performed a song, "The Story", for the movie.^[42]

In January 2007, Jones recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios for Live from Abbey Road. The episode, on which John Mayer and Richard Ashcroft also appeared, was aired on UK Channel 4 and on the Sundance Channel. She appeared twice on the PBS series Austin City Limits, on November 2, 2002 and October 6, 2007. The latter appearance was the season opener.

Jones performing at Parque Independência in 2010

In a change of direction predating The Fall, Jones (referring to herself as "Maddie" and virtually anonymous in a blond wig) sang and played guitar with rock band El Madmo. The band consists of Jones, Daru Oda and Richard Julian and released an eponymous album on May 20, 2007.^[43]

Jones appears in Herbie Hancock's 2007 release River: The Joni Letters singing the first track, "Court and Spark". This album won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008; Jones was credited as a featured artist, her ninth Grammy win.^[44]

Jones appeared on the comedy track "Dreamgirl", on the 2009 debut album from The Lonely Island, Incredibad (featuring SNL performer Andy Samberg).^[45]

In 2008, Jones made another appearance in hip hop with an appearance on a track named "Life Is Better", on the critically acclaimed album The Renaissance by rapper Q-tip.^[46]

In 2009, Jones made a cameo appearance in the independent film, Wah Do Dem,^[47] co-starring Sean Bones and written by Ben Chace and Sam Fleischner.

Jones was a judge for the 5th annual Independent Music Awards, supporting independent artists' careers.^[48]

In 2010, Jones contributed "World of Trouble" to the Enough Project and Downtown Records' Raise Hope for Congo compilation. Proceeds from the compilation fund efforts to make the protection and empowerment of Congo’s women a priority, as well as inspire individuals around the world to raise their voice for peace in Congo.^{[citation needed]}

For the documentary Wretchers and Jabbers, Jones contributed a song on the soundtrack, "A Change is Gonna Come".

In 2011, Jones provided vocals to the songs "Season's Trees", "Black" and "Problem Queen" on the album Rome by Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi.^[49]

Jones collaborated with "Family Guy" celebrity Seth MacFarlane on his Grammy-nominated 2011 debut studio album "Music Is Better Than Words" on the song "Two Sleepy People".

In 2011, Jones appeared on Duets II by Tony Bennett on the track Speak Low.

Jones sang "It Came Upon Midnight Clear", "Silent Night", and "Pooping Log (Caga Tió)" on the Holiday Special 2011 of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.^[50]

Jones also played piano and vocals on numerous tracks on Ryan Adams' 2011 studio album Ashes & Fire.

Hank Williams project[link]

Jones is one of the participants in the so-called 'Hank Williams Project' overseen by Bob Dylan, and reportedly including contributions from Willie Nelson, Jack White, Lucinda Williams, and Alan Jackson.^[51][52][53] On March 31, 2008, Jones commemorated the 10th anniversary of The Living Room with a midnight performance at the intimate Manhattan music venue where the singer got her start. She played a new song titled "How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart" and explained that it originated from newly-found Hank Williams lyrics she was asked to put to music.^[52] Jones also performed the song in late 2008 on Elvis Costello's talk/music television series, Spectacle: Elvis Costello with...^[54][55][56]

Tours[link]

Throughout 2002 and 2003, Jones appeared on stages globally, on her first tour with the Handsome Band, travelling throughout Asia, America, Europe and Oceania, with numerous sold-out concerts and critical acclaim. Jones tour to promote her third album, Not Too Late, began in Wallingford, Connecticut, on April 13, 2007, and featured a free concert in New York City on July 6, 2007.The European phase began on July 9, 2007 in Paris, concluding in Reykjavík, Iceland on September 2, 2007.^[57] Jones and band play typically several album hits, modified with guitar solos and additional percussion. Additionally, shows may also feature several covers of country, jazz, blues, or folk songs, ranging from the ubiquitous to the obscure. Artists covered have included, among others, Willie Nelson, Gram Parsons, Johnny Cash, John Prine, Randy Newman, Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley, and Tom Waits.

Jones worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, for her 2007 summer tour.^[58] She also performed at Bryant Park on July 6 as part of Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series.^[59]

• 2002/2004: Come Away with Me Tour
• 2004/2005: Norah Jones & The Handsome Band Tour
• 2007/2008: Not Too Late Tour
• 2010: The Fall Tour

Special appearances[link]

• On September 9, 2009, Jones performed the songs Come Away With Me and Young Blood at the end of the Apple Inc.'s 'It's Only Rock and Roll' press conference in San Francisco, for the release of iTunes 9 and video camera-equipped iPods, among other items.^[60]
• She appeared on Sesame Street performing alongside Elmo to the song "Don't Know Why".^[61]
• On May 14, 2009, Jones made a guest appearance and performed with many other music icons on the season finale of the NBC series 30 Rock.^[62]
• Jones sang "Maybe I'm Amazed" with Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters at the Kennedy Center Honors Paul McCartney concert with Paul in attendance. December 28, 2010.
• As a tribute to Steve Jobs, Norah Jones appeared on the Apple Campus October 19, 2011, performing her songs "Nearness of You" and "Painter Song." She finished her live, three song set by performing "Forever young," by Bob Dylan in honor of Steve, because "I know he liked Bob Dylan.".^[63]
• On November 16, 2011, Jones sang 'America the Beautiful' at the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony for astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and John Glenn.^[64]
• On May 2, 2012 Jones performed "Happy Pills" on Late Show With David Letterman.

Personal life[link]

Jones was in a long-term relationship with Lee Alexander^[65] from 2000 until they split at Christmas 2007.^[66]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

• Come Away with Me (2002)
• Feels Like Home (2004)
• Not Too Late (2007)
• The Fall (2009)
• Little Broken Hearts (2012)

Awards[link]

See also[link]

	Book: Norah Jones
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Fry Street Fire – Norah Jones was an honorary Chairwoman of 'Save Fry Street'
• List of best-selling music artists

References[link]