The Bush administration has selected L. Paul Bremer, a former longtime U.S. diplomat who headed the State Department’s counterterrorism efforts, to be the civilian administrator guiding reconstruction efforts in Iraq, a U.S. official said on Friday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bremer would supplant Jay Garner, a retired Army lieutenant general, as the top U.S. civilian official in Iraq. Bremer has worked for Kissinger Associates, a consulting firm headed by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger that he joined in 1989 following a 23-year career in the diplomatic service. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan appointed Bremer the State Department’s ambassador-at-large for counterterrorism, making him responsible for U.S. policies to combat terrorism. He was top advisor to the president and secretary of state on terrorism for the next three years. Full Story