Obama Will Retain Bush's War Czar Douglas Lute

New York Times:

President-elect Barack Obama will be keeping another holdover from the Bush administration on his national security team -- Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute, who will keep his job coordinating Iraq and Afghanistan policy out of the National Security Council, according to transition officials.

But unlike his role in the Bush administration, where, as assistant to the President for Iraq and Afghanistan, he reported directly to President Bush, General Lute in the Obama administration will report to Mr. Obama through the president's National Security Adviser, Gen. James L. Jones.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[GJR227]

08:01 AM on 01/14/2009

O: Ban the use of the idiotic word Czar.

[ArmyCav22]

12:35 AM on 01/14/2009

This is a good man, when I was at AIT at Fort Jackson, I got a chance to here a speech he gave.

[Hopalongpoppyseed]

08:01 PM on 01/13/2009

Why do people who use the term Czar, hate democratic government? Why would they want to emulate early-modern autocracies? Or are they totally ignorant of history?

[Indie2008]

05:55 PM on 01/13/2009

How are we going to tell the Democrats from the Republicans? Will we have to start judging the president on his performance?

[Hopalongpoppyseed]

08:02 PM on 01/13/2009

But then we would have to wait a while. Whaaaaaaaaah !

[altara]

03:26 PM on 01/13/2009

I wondered what had happened to the war czar. After his appointment, we never heard from him again. I assumed that he was about as effective as our drug czar.

homer www.altara

[Sumocat]

03:20 PM on 01/13/2009

Retained but diminished. Actually, I didn't think his job description merited "czar" status in the first place. Seemed to me like a coordinator, not a decision-maker or policy enforcer. I suspect the position will be phased out after Lute has served his purpose.

[Lemmy]

04:08 PM on 01/13/2009

Once O gets up to speed, I think he'll find a lot of value in and valid reasons to retain the Bush policies as it pertains to Homeland Security and the war on terror.

[sweetwhine]

04:14 PM on 01/13/2009

Good choice. The one's who who broke it should fix it.

[Hopalongpoppyseed]

08:03 PM on 01/13/2009

Ivan The Terrible was one heck of a coordinator.

[RJPI]

03:04 PM on 01/13/2009

Stop partisan politics. Obama. just like any other elected civilian president is brought up to date on the dangers to the homeland. These people are dedicated americans that know better than any ex-governor of Texas or ex-one term senator of Illinois about the dangers this nation face.

[Lemmy]

02:51 PM on 01/13/2009

Another example of the continuation of Bush policy. Interesting.

[jayjaga]

02:42 PM on 01/13/2009

Keeping the Nation's security first before politics!

[SailFree]

02:35 PM on 01/13/2009

Obama will keep much of the good that Bush will leave, if he's as smart as he appears and less ideological than he appears--and we don't have the answers to those questions yet.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/986rockt.asp?pg=2

[Grunty1]

02:59 PM on 01/13/2009

[keep munch of good that Bush will leave]

There isn't any to keep, apologist.

[GJR227]

08:03 AM on 01/14/2009

You can fit "the good that Bush will leave" in a very small box. Then throw it in the garbage.

[Opt1musPr1me]

02:32 PM on 01/13/2009

Obama is keeping on people like Gates and this dude to indirectly bring their eventual replacements up to speed.

[Hopalongpoppyseed]

07:58 PM on 01/13/2009

Exactly, Thank you for pointing out what should be obvious.