Bush chooses a new "Commander in-Chief." Or as he likes to call it, a "War Czar"

[MadBadger]

Lt. Gen Douglas Lute.

I know nothing about him, but it was reported on MSNBC about 4 minutes ago.

[sabbat hunter]

1. constitutionally

by the constitution bush is the commander in chief.

[rasputin1952]

6. He can't handle the job, and needs a scapegoat...

hence the "war czar", which opens some other interesting cans of worms...I wonder what the Sec of Defense & the Joint Chiefs think about this, and is it Constitutional?

[Spazito]

2. Very interesting, especially given what he said in 2005...

US general sees significant withdrawal in Iraq
Published: August 24 2005 21:46 | Last updated: August 24 2005 23:49

The US is expected to pull significant numbers of troops out of Iraq in the next 12 months in spite of the continuing violence, according to the general responsible for near-term planning in the country.

Maj Gen Douglas Lute, director of operations at US Central Command, yesterday said the reductions were part of a push by Gen John Abizaid, commander of all US troops in the region, to put the burden of defending Iraq on Iraqi forces.

snip

He said: “We believe at some point, in order to break this dependence on the . . . coalition, you simply have to back off and let the Iraqis step forward.

snip

“I will tell you this, as the operation officer of Centcom, if a year from now I've got to call on all those army troops that Gen Schoomaker is prepared to provide, I won't feel real good about myself,” he said. Gen George Casey, commander of allied forces in Iraq, made similar comments last month on reductions that could come by early next year but they were quickly played down by the White House.


more

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/9f81fef2-14de-11da-9df1-00000e2511c8.html

Edited to take out a one sentence paragraph and add a better one and still keep within the 4 para rule.

[Emit]

13. But, the next day, he said

Pentagon plans for 'long war' on terror
By Peter Spiegel

Published: August 25 2005 03:00 | Last updated: August 25 2005 03:00

~snip~

According to Major General Douglas Lute, who as director of operations for Centcom is responsible for near-term planning, the long war amounts to an offensive from the Horn of Africa to the borders of Afghanistan to ensure that al-Qaeda and its affiliated terror organisations do not find a safe haven once they are forced out of their current bases.

To Maj Gen Lute and his Centcom counterparts, the Iraqi insurgency - which he argues is 90 per cent home-grown - may prove a short-term challenge, but the growing threat from a loosely affiliated network of extremists runs the risk of causing more damage in the region, indeed worldwide.

~snip~

But perhaps more interestingly, Maj Gen Lute noted that Centcom was increas ingly looking to fight its campaign on the internet, where Islamic radicals have found ways to recruit, train, and raise funds for their cause. He said terror networks had become so sophisticated that they had begun to use otherwise prosaic commercial applications such as PayPal, the internet payment system, to collect donations to their cause.

"These guys are sophisticated in their use of what we call the virtual safe haven, the virtual sanctuary," he said.

"One of the things that we are hot on right now is how to contest that virtually safe haven."

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e4df353a-1503-11da-9df1-00000e2511c8.html

[Spazito]

16. So, is he going to pull out the troops and put them to work fighting

the internet??? Seems so, given the two issues discussed within the two days. It seems he will fit right in with the bush cabal, hope he likes becoming a scapegoat as he surely will become.

[sam sarrha]

3. who's the new War Czar Guy... what is his background

[atreides1]

9. Here you go

Douglas E. Lute, originally from Michigan City, Indiana, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1975. His first assignment was to the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment in Bindlach, Germany, where he commanded C Troop. He received a master's degree from Harvard University and taught in the Social Sciences department at West Point.

Following attendance at the British Army Staff College, he returned to the Second Cavalry as operations officer, serving both at the squadron and regimental levels. In 1990-91 he deployed and fought with the Regiment in Operation DESERT STORM, and later served on the staff of the Chief of Staff of the Army.

He commanded 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry at Fort Hood, Texas from 1992-94. He then served on the Joint Staff in the Directorate for Strategic Plans and Policy, J-5, and held a War College Fellowship at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

From 1998-2000 he commanded the Second Cavalry Regiment, part of XVIII Airborne Corps, at Fort Polk, Louisiana. He served next as the executive assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for 14 months before joining the First Infantry Division in Schweinfurt, Germany, as the Assistant Division Commander. He commanded Multi-national Brigade East in Kosovo for 6 months in 2002 before being assigned to US European Command in January 2003 as the Deputy Director of Operations.

In June 2004, he began more than two years as Director of Operations (J-3) at US Central Command during which he oversaw combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as other operations in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa. He assumed duties as Director of Operations, the Joint Staff, in September 2006


Basically an over educated staff officer with some command time!

[sam sarrha]

18. so how many hours of the 100 Hour War did he do.and all of 2 yrs in a row of peace comanding inhouse

[gatorboy]

4. So what's Bush's job now?

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

5. Cheerleader Bot

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

8. Fucking up domestic policy.

If the administration knows what's good for them, he'll go into hiding. Every time he opens his mouth his poll numbers drop.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

7. "Let the Lt. Generals decide." n/t

[Disturbed]

10. What is Gen Pace's job?

Why does America need a "War Czar"?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

17. I'm pretty sure his job is...

"Fucking up US foreign policy so George W. Bush doesn't have to."

[NYCGirl]

11. May God have mercy on Gen. Lute's soul, for he is being thrown under the bus.

[spanone]

12. bio for our newly crowned Czar

http://www.jcs.mil/bios/bio_lute.html

[librechik]

14. Commander Guy hates Democracy

loves appointing others to take the bla--er, do the jobs he can't.

Hey, maybe we need a "Visiting Czar" program.

[Renew Deal]

15. Are they going to make him a 5 Star General?

I hate the use of the word czar in this case. It's so Soviet.