US President George W. Bush has chosen Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, the Defense Department's director of operations, to oversee the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan as a "war czar" after a long search for new leadership, administration officials said on Tuesday.
It was a difficult job to fill, given the unpopularity of the war, now in its fifth year, and uncertainty about how much power the war coordinator would have. The search was complicated by demands from Congress to bring US troops home from Iraq and scant public support for the war. The White House tried for weeks to fill the position and approached numerous candidates before settling on Lute.
In the newly created position, Lute would serve as an assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser and would also maintain his military status and rank as a three-star Army general, a Pentagon official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Bush had not yet made an announcement.
Creation of the new job comes as the administration tries to use a combat troop buildup in Iraq to bring a degree of calm so political reconciliation can take hold.
The White House has sought a war coordinator to eliminate conflicts among the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies -- and to speak for the president when new entanglements arise from the war zone.
The addition will help Stephen Hadley, Bush's national security adviser, who monitors hot spots around the world.
Bush's move is part of a lengthy reshuffling of war leaders. Yet critics have questioned whether a new coordinator will help so late in the Bush presidency, and may even add confusion in the chain of command.
Lute's appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.
Until now, Hadley and other West Wing officials have tried to keep turf-conscious agencies marching in the same direction on military, political and reconstruction fronts in Iraq. Meanwhile, the public's patience for the war has long eroded and lawmakers -- including members of Bush's own party -- are pushing a harder line to ensure that the Iraqi government is making progress toward self-governance.
Lute's formal title would be assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan policy and implementation.
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