Did I hear it right on KO? That even though the war tsar has to be approved by Congress

[Horse with no Name]

he is not answerable to Congress--only the President.
So if they delegate the entire war to the tsar--does that mean that Congress will not be able to get answers on the war because it will all be done by this guy?
This shit is really making me sick.

[Poiuyt]

1. I missed KO tonight, but what I had heard was that the czar doesn't have any

real authority. He would need to go to the President or the head of the NSA to get anything done. There will be a lot of confusion at first because no one really knows what this guys supposed to do.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

[Bitwit1234]

2. Does this mean he gets to approprate money for the war.

bypassing congress for that also.

[magellan]

3. Could be.

That happened with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Board. From Countdown Tuesday night:

LANNY DAVIS, RESIGNED FROM PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES BOARD: Hello, Keith.

OLBERMANN: So the 9/11 Commission suggested this oversight board. The “Washington Post” says the administration made hundreds of revisions and deletions to its very first report? What is going on here?

DAVIS: Look, I have to start by saying that this is a genuine difference of opinion. The White House council, Fred Fielding, who was on the 9/11 Commission, disagreed with the process of editing and deleting aspects of our report to Congress. But there are people in the White House and in the administration who saw this legislation putting us in the Office of the President as creating a board that was part of the White House staff no different than anybody else. And that was their opinion.

My opinion was that the Congress intended us to provide real oversight, but in-house criticism and review of some of these programs that might have infringed on civil liberties, such as the national security letters, which the inspector general of the Justice Department did say constituted serious abuses. Now that difference of opinion, where the White House council actually agreeing with my view, means that the real problem is Congress in creating what is a square peg in a round hole, putting what should be an oversight independent entity in the Office of the President.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18700776/

[KellyW]

4. The way I understand this...

The tsar is really a deputy National Security Advisor. Which is does not need to be confirmed. The congress does have to sign off on command positions given to 3 stars, which this guy is.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

5. Tsar = fall guy for misbegotten war

[radfringe]

6. part of the spin

in creating a 'war czar' is the 'war czar' will bust through the layers of bueracracy to get what is needed

:eyes: creating another level of bueracracy will help bust through the layers of a bueracracy?

looks more like creating a perfect pet scapegoat to take the blame for the lack of progress with the Iraq occupation.

No plan, no "power", no oversight -- yeah right, Operation Pet Scapegoat will will be another slam dunk... :eyes: