Bush Appoints War Czar

Posted on May 15, 2007

President Bush has appointed Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute to be the new War Czar. Lute's current job is as the director of operations for the Pentagon. Now he will be in charge of the disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the newly created position, Lute would serve as an assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser, and would also maintain his military status and rank as a three-star general, according to a Pentagon official.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Bush had not yet made an announcement. Creation of the new job comes as the administration tries to use a combat troop buildup in Iraq to bring a degree of calm so political reconciliation can take hold. The White House has sought a war coordinator to eliminate conflicts among the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies _ and to speak for the president at times. The addition will help Stephen Hadley, Bush's national security adviser, who monitors hot spots around the world.
Bush's move is part of a lengthy reshuffling of war leaders. Yet critics have questioned whether a new coordinator will help so late in the Bush presidency or will instead add confusion in the chain of command. Lute's appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. Until now, Hadley and other West Wing officials have tried to keep turf-conscious agencies marching in the same direction on military, political and reconstruction fronts in Iraq. Meanwhile, the public's patience for the war has long eroded, and lawmakers _ including members of Bush's own party _ are pushing a harder line in ensuring that the Iraqi government is making progress toward self-governance.

This is ridiculous. The U.S. has never had a War Czar. And the reason for that is that we already have a Commander in Chief: the President of the United States. You know, the Decider. "Commander Guy," as President Bush recently referred to himself.

So, what's the purpose of a War Czar, anyway? To take the blame when he is unable to miraculously make the Great Quagmire into the Garden of Eden? Some archeologists say that the biblical Garden of Eden may actually have existed somwhere in what is now modern-day Iraq. How times change.