THE SCOPE OF MR. BREMER'S JOB is mindboggling. To create a democracy in a country without such traditions...to create a private economy in a country where 90% of workers were previously employed by the state. Daunting.

Here is a pretty good rundown on the man upon whose shoulders the long term success seems to ride.

In the end, a bond was forged. "We are with you," the sheik declared.

Dispatched to Baghdad five weeks ago by President Bush to lead the U.S. effort to rebuild Iraq, Bremer has emerged not just as the day-to-day administrator of the occupation but also as the central architect of Iraq's political future.

He is using negotiation, persuasion and outright fiat to recruit a new crop of leaders who he hopes will lead the country of 25 million people toward democracy.

But until then -- national elections could be two years away -- Bremer has made it clear that he is in charge.

In the past few weeks, he has signed a range of far-reaching executive orders to waive import tariffs, seize Baath Party assets, ban heavy weapons and claim licensing power over telecommunications services.

When several college presidents asked him to lift a travel ban that had been imposed on academics by Saddam Hussein's government, Bremer promised to do so by the end of the day.