Bremer: Things Were Complicated

How does $8.8 billion disappear without much of a clue of where it went? Well… it’s complicated.

A preview of Paul Bremer’s testimony tomorrow morning, from Mike Allen of The Politico:

L. Paul Bremer III, former administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority, plans to point to unexpectedly chaotic conditions in post-Saddam Baghdad as he defends his record at a hearing on Iraq spending before House Democrats on Tuesday, according to sources familiar with his testimony…

Bremer, the civilian in charge of all of Iraq from May 2003 to June 2004, told Politico he looks forward to committee members’ questions, but also plans to give them a 5,000- to 6,000-word treatise in addition to his five-minute opening statement….

Bremer calls his longer, written statement “a more extensive explanation of the circumstances we faced on the ground and how we tried to deal with those circumstances – how they complicated everything we did.”

If Bremer’s got nothing more than that up his sleeve, it’s going to be a long, long hearing for him.

Also testifying will be Stuart W. Bowen, Jr., the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (Bremer’s nemesis), and David Oliver, the Former Director of Management and Budget from the Coalition Provisional Authority.