Chief Justice Roberts, Now Bremer: Dead Certain Legacy Miscues?

"Envoy's letter counters Bush on Iraqi Army" from the NY Times reports that L. Paul Bremer, the czar of the Coalition Provisional Authority for the year after the Iraq invasion, says that, contrary to Robert Draper's new book Dead Certain, he did inform President Bush about disbanding the Iraqi Army - and received a reply of thanks and praise from Bush for his leadership. 

Bremer, who received the Medal of Freedom - and a heap of criticism for his efforts, looks to be in legacy rebuttal - just as Bush is in legacy rescue with a book that may end up being legacy miscue - as first, Supreme Court Justice John Roberts denied recommending Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court - and now Bremer says he did inform Bush about the Iraqi Army situation.

“The plan was to keep the Iraqi Army intact, and that’s accurate,” the official said. “But by the time Jerry Bremer announced the order, it was fairly clear that the Iraqi Army could not be reconstituted, and the president understood that. He was acknowledging that that was something that did not go as planned.”

But the letters, combined with Mr. Bush’s comments, suggest confusion within the administration about what quickly proved to be a decision with explosive repercussions.

Indeed, Mr. Bremer’s letter to Mr. Bush is striking in its almost nonchalant reference to a major decision that a number of American military officials in Iraq strongly opposed.