Perspective: Tim Carney, Bush Critic, Back in Baghdad to Lead Reconstruction

Tim Carney in Iraq in 2003

Diplomat Tim Carney left Iraq three years ago — angry and outspoken about United States policy there. Now the administration has asked him to return as the economic coordinator.

It's a surprise invitation for an official who has said that the U.S. was not listening to Iraqis after the invasion, and formulating policy in isolation from the people it affected.

Carney is a veteran diplomat; over the last three decades, he has served in Cambodia, Haiti and Sudan, among other posts. In his return Baghdad news conference, he stood by his earlier criticism of administration policy in Iraq.

"In 2003, the coalition, notably the United States, failed to invite Iraqis into our councils," Carney said. "And that failure is what has led to the situation in which the country finds itself today."

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