US President George W. Bush on Tuesday chose Lieutenant General
Douglas Lute as the "war czar" to oversee the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
"I have chosen Lieutenant General Douglas Lute to serve as
assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for
Iraq and Afghanistan," Bush said in a statement.
Bush said Lute, currently serving as the director of operations
of the Joint Staff and a former leader of US military forces in the
Middle East, "is a tremendously accomplished military leader who
understands war and government and knows how to get things
done."
In the new position, Lute would be "the full-time manager for
the implementation and execution of our strategies for Iraq and
Afghanistan, and will manage the interagency policy development
process for these two theaters," Bush said.
Lute, 54, has been director of operations for the Joint Chiefs
of Staff since September last year. Before that, he served as
director of operations at US Central Command.
The Washington Post reported last month that the White
House intended to appoint a "war czar" to oversee the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan, and that the high-power post would have authority
to issue directions to the Pentagon, the State Department and other
agencies.
The administration's interest in the idea stemmed from
long-standing concern over the coordination of civilian and
military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan by different parts of the
US government, but at least three retired four-star generals had
declined the offer, according to the report.
(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2007)
