RAJIV CHANDRASEKARAN
After the United States Military victory at the Beginning of the Iraq War, the Bush administration operated under the neoconservative view that the Iraqis wanted a democracy and freedom and saw the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq as an opportunity to apply extreme conservative principles in the construction of a modern democracy in the Middle East. Bush appointed one of his political supporters and conservative ideologue as the head of the occupation authority and almost all of the many positions to rebuild Iraq was filled with conservative ideologues almost all of whom had no previous practical experience in the area of their new responsibility, and had not diplomatic skills or experience in Iraq, the Middle East. Almost none spoke Arabic or knew anything about Islamic culture. The occupation was a disaster, and the deadly phase of the Iraq war broke out.
Rajiv Chandrasekaran is an Indian-American journalist. He is the National Editor of The Washington Post, where he has worked since 1994.