WASHINGTON, 8 June 2007 — President George W. Bush’s new “war czar” admitted yesterday to past misgivings about Bush’s surge of US troops into Iraq as Democrats lacerated White House policy on the blood-soaked country.
Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, who was nominated by Bush last month to oversee the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Iraqi authorities and other US agencies needed to step up alongside the US military.
“I expressed concerns in the policy development phase...that this not be simply a one-dimensional surge,” the three-star army general, 54, told his Senate confirmation hearing.
The surge climaxing this month would “likely have only temporary and localized effects” unless it was accompanied by “counterpart surges” by the Iraqi government and civilian US government departments, Lute said.
But he added: “We are in the early days and time will tell.” Democrats such as Hillary Clinton, a leading contender in the 2008 presidential race, summed up criticism that Lute was being placed in an “impossible” position to fix administration policy in Iraq.
“We can only hope that you will be listened to when others of us have been ignored for a number of years now,” Clinton said.
Bush nominated Lute in mid-May as a deputy national security adviser to “be the full-time manager” of White House strategies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lute, who is now serving as director of the Joint Staff, was selected after several prominent retired generals turned down offers or overtures to become the White House’s “war czar.” The choice surprised colleagues at the Pentagon. Some questioned how effective a three-star general would be in managing a war effort from the White House amid four-star military commanders and Cabinet secretaries.
Republican Sen. James Inhofe told the hearing that he believed the new position was “unnecessary,” but said Lute was the “ideal” choice for the job.
Lute said the job was “a major personal challenge” but stressed: “If confirmed, I will give the president my straightforward, candid and personal advice.” Both Democratic and Republican senators queried the need for yet another post of adviser to the president in addition to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and military chiefs.
Hadley came in for biting criticism after Lute said he would advise Bush “directly” on policy toward Iraq and Afghanistan, in effect bypassing the top White House security aide.
Senate armed services committee chairman Carl Levin said that in that case, Hadley was redundant and should be fired.
The Democratic lawmaker said Lute was in an “unenviable position” in being asked by Bush to bring “coherence to an incoherent policy” over Iraq.
The surge was failing to quell the bloody insurgency, Levin said, and added: “Baghdad is burning while the Iraqi politicians refuse to accept responsibility for their country’s future.” Lute said early results of the surge were “mixed” and described Iraqi progress on security as “uneven so far.” Bush announced in January that the United States was deploying more than 21,500 additional troops to Iraq, bringing the total to 160,000 by this month.
The bulk of the soldiers are going to Baghdad, while 4,000 are heading to the province of Al-Anbar, a Sunni Arab insurgent stronghold to the west.
Lute said that without progress by Iraq’s government to reconcile warring Shiite and Sunni factions, “I’d share the view that we’re not likely to see much progress on the security situation.” Al-Qaeda was emerging as the number one security threat in Iraq, he said, adding that he would press Pakistan to do more to eliminate “safe havens” for Al-Qaeda and Taleban fighters along its border with Afghanistan.
