3 Generals Spurn the Position of War 'Czar'

[cal04]

The White House wants to appoint a high-powered czar to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with authority to issue directions to the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies, but it has had trouble finding anyone able and willing to take the job, according to people close to the situation.

At least three retired four-star generals approached by the White House in recent weeks have declined to be considered for the position, the sources said, underscoring the administration's difficulty in enlisting its top recruits to join the team after five years of warfare that have taxed the United States and its military.

"The very fundamental issue is, they don't know where the hell they're going," said retired Marine Gen. John J. "Jack" Sheehan, a former top NATO commander who was among those rejecting the job. Sheehan said he believes that Vice President Cheney and his hawkish allies remain more powerful within the administration than pragmatists looking for a way out of Iraq. "So rather than go over there, develop an ulcer and eventually leave, I said, 'No, thanks,' " he said.

The White House has not publicly disclosed its interest in creating the position, hoping to find someone President Bush can anoint and announce for the post all at once. Officials said they are still considering options for how to reorganize the White House's management of the two conflicts. If they cannot find a person suited for the sort of specially empowered office they envision, they said, they may have to retain the current structure.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001776.html

[Schema Thing]

1. Isn't that, like, Bush's job?

C in C and all that, eh wot?

[ninkasi]

3. If I were a cynic

I'd be tempted to say that Lord Pissypants is trying to dump the whole steaming mess into someone else's lap.

[cassiepriam]

5. Bingo. Shrub needs a firewall around him. People he can blame.

[orwell]

4. It's C in C...Jr. n/t

[illinoisprogressive]

2. Bush thinks his job is to make stupid pronouncements like "I'm the decider"

[Demeter]

6. Oh, The Generals KNOW Where They're Going, All Right

and Judas Goat isn't the way they want to go. Nor do they wish to be the sacrificial lamb. It's called ethics: something in short supply in official circles.