Formation of the Iraqi Bureaucracy

I came across an article dealing with top-level Iraqi bureaucrats meeting with some of their U.S. counterparts. It is interesting to think about how the Iraqi institutions will develop if and when stability is reached in the conflicted nation. For so long, these men and women have had to deal with “changing whims of the ruler had the force of law.” Now they will have the chance to deal with freedom and open market conditions. One trade ministry head said it best—“For example, dealing in foreign currency: One day it's a crime where they cut your hand or your ear for it, and the next day it was perfectly legal.” Such dramatic change is an obstacle that will face the developing nation. We have been talking about the autonomy of the bureaucracy and the relationships between the voters-->regulators-->bureaucrats. Iraq is in the unique position to use its valuable resources of oil and labor to grow into a prosperous nation. The many factions within the Iraqi society and the influx of terrorist activity are the only things standing in the way of such prosperity. The voters will have some distrust in the government due to the polarizing religious views. The regulators will have the same problem. The bureaucrats, on the other hand, will be run relatively in the dark to the Iraqi public. The American public and politicians do not know much about the doings of our own bureaus, so how will a nation with few sources of information be able to know what their officials are doing? The hope is that the Iraqi bureaucrats realize the potential for Iraqi growth by not becoming corrupt and capitalizing on this opportunity of freedom. If this becomes a problem, the Iraqi government will need to implement the oversight committees and an incentive system that has made the U.S. system effective.