Bush picks his new War Fall Guy Czar

This is a little strange. After a long list of people declined to even be considered for the job of being in charge of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Bush has finally found someone who wants, well, a Medal of Freedom, I suppose.

After a protracted search, President Bush has selected an Army lieutenant general to be his war czar in charge of overseeing the strife in Iraq and Afghanistan.

White House officials said Tuesday that Bush tapped Lt. Gen. Douglas E Lute for the new position. The job was created to consolidate authority in one person for coordination of the war efforts and to ease conflicts between the Pentagon, State Department and other agencies involved.

Lute, a three-star general, will have the titles of assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan policy implementation. It was unclear Tuesday whether Lute would report directly to Bush or to National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley.

Lute's selection will take pressure off of Hadley, who had the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts on his plate along with virtually all other pressing foreign issues, such as the nuclear standoffs with North Korea and Iran.

Lute is no slouch. His position, up to today, was that of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - J3 (Director for Operations). He's got a long resume and has a better grasp on things Middle-East than almost anybody else in the Bush administration.

Lute's past comments have been down the line of reducing American forces in Iraq as a means to undercut the perception of occupation. Now he's got a president in "escalating" mode.

This is a career "kiss of death".

Now that Bush has dumped the Commander Guy job, does this mean he'll be going on another vacation?