Sources Say "War Czar" Chosen By Bush

President Bush has chosen Lt. Gen. 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 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 U.S. 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, according to a Pentagon official.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Mr. 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, Mr. Bush's national security adviser, who monitors hot spots around the world.

Mr. 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.

The appointment would be 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 Mr. Bush's own party, are pushing a harder line to ensure that the Iraqi government is making progress toward self-governance.

The Bush administration has avoided the term "war czar." Lute's title would be assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan policy and implementation.

Lute became director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September. Before that, he served for more than two years as director of operations at U.S. Central Command, during which he oversaw combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with other regions.

A West Point graduate, Lute has had an extensive military career. He saw combat in the 1991 Gulf War.

From 1998 to 2000 he commanded the Second Cavalry Regiment. He served next as the executive assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for 14 months before joining the First Infantry Division in Schweinfurt, Germany, as the assistant division commander. He also served in Kosovo for 6 months in 2002 before being assigned to U.S. European Command in January 2003.