Hi! I'm the new War Czar!

And you should go get a draft card.

Frequent tours for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the all-volunteer force and made it worth considering a return to a military draft, President Bush's new war adviser said Friday.

"I think it makes sense to certainly consider it," Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said in an interview with National Public Radio's "All Things Considered."

"And I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation's security by one means or another," Lute added in his first interview since he was confirmed by the Senate in June.

President Nixon abolished the draft in 1973. Restoring it, Lute said, would be a "major policy shift" and Bush has made it clear that he doesn't think it's necessary.

"The president's position is that the all volunteer military meets the needs of the country and there is no discussion of a draft. General Lute made that point as well," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

As Cernig points out, this seems to be the first public statement by Lute since his appointment as the War God. Cernig makes another point which has been one my drum beats for a long time:

Watch the 26%ers, who support the occupation of Iraq from afar by buying car stickers, jump to agree with Bush and suggest Lute was a bad choice...while quietly checking out entry requirements for Canada. As for us lefties? We'll just smugly point out that a draft wouldn't need even passing consideration if Bush hadn't wasted all that time and all those resources, as well as exhausting the Army, by invading Iraq instead of concentrating on Afghanistan.

Heh! Indeed.

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?

Applicants must be willing to receive Medal of Freedom

The war in Iraq is going so "well" and "successes" are just piling up faster than lemmings running off a cliff that the Bush administration is looking to create a war czar. (Emphasis mine)

The White House wants to appoint a high-powered czar to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with authority to issue directions to the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies, but it has had trouble finding anyone able and willing to take the job, according to people close to the situation.

At least three retired four-star generals approached by the White House in recent weeks have declined to be considered for the position, the sources said, underscoring the administration's difficulty in enlisting its top recruits to join the team after five years of warfare that have taxed the United States and its military.

"The very fundamental issue is, they don't know where the hell they're going," said retired Marine Gen. John J. "Jack" Sheehan, a former top NATO commander who was among those rejecting the job. Sheehan said he believes that Vice President Cheney and his hawkish allies remain more powerful within the administration than pragmatists looking for a way out of Iraq. "So rather than go over there, develop an ulcer and eventually leave, I said, 'No, thanks,' " he said.

Hmmm. If things were going well in either Iraq or Afghanistan it is a simple fact that Bush, or Cheney, would be taking all the credit for anything that looked like success. The US already has civilian and military leadership in place for both theatres.

This spells quagmire faster than you can say "fall-guy".

Bush/Cheney aren't looking for a war czar. They're looking for a scapegoat.

Crooks and Liars has more.

BONUS: Pudentilla over at Skippy's has a couple of multiple choice questions on this subject that you must try to answer, here and here.

(Hat tip Canadian Cynic)