New War Czar Douglas Lute Just Another Bush-Era Happy Talker

5:04 pm EST May 15th, 2007 | News | 14 Comments

From an appearance on CNN’s Paula Zahn Now in February of 2005.

ZAHN: And I recently talked with Brigadier General Douglas Lute, the director of operations for the U.S. Central Command which is responsible for Iraq and I asked him about one of Senator McCain’s point that insurgents have worked their way into Iraqi forces.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIG. GEN. DOUGLAS LUTE, DIR. OF OPERATIONS, CENTCOM: Well, Paula, this goes very much to our primary effort for 2005 and that is to enhance the quality of Iraqi forces. You know, we need to keep this in perspective. But in seven months ago there was no Iraqi army, there were no Iraqi commando battalions. There was very little that could be called an Iraqi police force. We’ve made a great deal of progress in the last seven months. But this is still an immature emerging force. Things like infiltration by insurgents, things like sharing intelligence, developing their own intelligence, and developing a coherent chain of command are all things that we’re working on for this calendar year.

In other words, the new war czar = “stay the course”.

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14 Responses to “New War Czar Douglas Lute Just Another Bush-Era Happy Talker”

  1. Nimrod Gently says:
    May 15, 2007 at 5:16 pm

    WHO SAID STAY THE COURSE THEY NEVER SAID STAY THE COURSE IT’S ALL LIES LIES LIES BLAUGHAHGHAL

  2. Hedley says:
    May 15, 2007 at 6:09 pm

    You are taking a leap that the General’s opinion in May, 2007 is the same as it was in February, 2005. It may turn out to be – we don’t know — but the assumption, as of now, has no basis in fact.

  3. Duros62 says:
    May 15, 2007 at 6:43 pm

    You mean Bush finally got the scapegoat he wanted? Excellent.

  4. Mike says:
    May 15, 2007 at 9:33 pm

    Duros,

    I actually agree. The whole “war czar” idea seems pretty stupid. Especially so, considering that the largely honorary positions of “drug czar” and “AIDS czar” seemed to be nothing more than a lame attempt at finding something for a retired public servant to do. Dems and Republicans are equally to blame for that mess.

  5. buma says:
    May 15, 2007 at 10:10 pm

    Is a war czar necessary if we already have a war preznit and a Secretary of Defense? I suppose it would help free up more vacation time in August for the dub.
    Did they approach Bill Bennett for the gig? He did have some experience as the chain-smokin’ and drinkin’ drug czar, all of which helps illustrate how effective a czar can be.

  6. fran says:
    May 15, 2007 at 11:55 pm

    Bush is the nutty decider and he picked his scapegoat czar.
    Just like Attorney General is now blaming second in command AG WHO JUST RESIGNED, the fall guy. Pass the buck you bad republiCONS. iT’S A WONDER THEY DON’T BLAME THEIR MOTHERS.

  7. Repack Rider says:
    May 16, 2007 at 12:12 am

    What does the Commander guy get to do now if someone else gets to do the commanding?

  8. T. Lacey says:
    May 16, 2007 at 1:22 am

    Why does the decider need a war czar? Doesn’t he already have commanders he should be listening to? Perhaps they are not giving him enough information for his handlers to negate and/or spin into whatever scenario that makes their “cause” the most money.

  9. merlallen says:
    May 16, 2007 at 7:23 am

    chickengeorge is just following his life long pattern of fucking shit up and having a grown up clean up after him.
    Or else he wants someone else to blame.
    You know like all of the “Party of Personal Responsibility” does.

  10. Jay says:
    May 16, 2007 at 8:23 am

    So I guess when you write, “Listen To The Generals” you don’t really mean, “Listen To The Generals”, you mean, “Listen Only To The Generals Who Agree With My Point of View.”

  11. Nimrod Gently says:
    May 16, 2007 at 9:52 am

    He means “Listen to These Specific Generals in These Adverts” which isn’t exactly an unreasonable thing to ask.

    Context: it’s not just for breakfast anymore.

  12. Oliver Willis says:
    May 16, 2007 at 12:33 pm

    Listen To The Generals Who Aren’t Licking The Administration’s Boots And Actually Care About The American People.

    Yeah, those generals.

  13. buma says:
    May 16, 2007 at 1:07 pm

    So I guess when you write, “Listen To The Generals” you don’t really mean, “Listen To The Generals”, you mean, “Listen Only To The Generals Who Agree With My Point of View.”
    Posted by: Jay | May 16, 2007 8:23:04 AM

    So Jay, did you agree with Gen Abizaid when he said six months ago today that the US and Iraqi government would have 4 to 6 months to reduce the violence in Baghdad before it spirals beyond control?

  14. Jess Wonderin says:
    May 16, 2007 at 10:38 pm

    Commander Codpiece found his scape goat . . . General Putz . . . so now we don’t need a Commander Guy, Vice Prizanut, Sec. Defense, or National Security Advisor? (Guess they can join Condi on her world shopping trips . . another worthless POS!) Like an ugly third grader with a bad cold . . Junior sure knows how to pick’m.