The retired US general assigned by Washington to run Iraq until an interim government is in place is due to arrive in Baghdad today, the Washington Post reported yesterday.
Gen Jay Garner said the United States wanted to see a democratic post-Saddam Hussein government but would not dictate its composition or how it is formed.
The general, who is 64, has a reputation as an experienced logistician for his work resettling Kurds who fled Iraqi forces in 1991.
However he is also controversial for his close ties to Israel.
He was one of 42 retired military officers to sign a statement by the Jewish Institute of National Security Affairs praising Israeli forces for "remarkable restraint" in dealing with the Palestinian uprising.
Gen Garner said that if he could do it over he would not sign the document, but said his motives were doing so were misunderstood.
"I was a little bit disenchanted with the Clinton administration when I signed that," Garner said. It was "kind of my lash back at the administration."