.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Born at the Crest of the Empire

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Who would want to be "Iraq Czar"?

Who would want this job?
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.....

"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.....

Besides Sheehan, sources said, the White House or intermediaries have sounded out retired Army Gen. Jack Keane and retired Air Force Gen. Joseph W. Ralston, who also said they are not interested.....

In the course of the discussions, Sheehan said, he called around to get a better feel for the administration landscape.

"There's the residue of the Cheney view -- 'We're going to win, al-Qaeda's there' -- that justifies anything we did," he said. "And then there's the pragmatist view -- how the hell do we get out of Dodge and survive? Unfortunately, the people with the former view are still in the positions of most influence." Sheehan said he wrote a note March 27 declining interest.


How would this job work? It's a non-delineated position above cabinet level brought in late so the individual would have no established allies within the administration.

This person would have little to no control over either policy (from above) or tactics (from below) but would carry all the responsibilty.

In the past, this role has been put on both the Sec Def Rumsfeld, and Sec State Condi Rice, but both ended up abdicating the role because in the end, Cheney overwhelmed them.

(And, I think it should be noted that Gen. Keane, the man who supposedly designed this "surge" strategy in conjunction with the administration, wants nothing to do with this.)

3 Comments:

  • ROTC's Doug Neidermeyer of Animal House, that's who would take this job.

    Mike, I don't know... this is just a rumor but Cheney was overheard telling Rove, "Put Neidermeyer on it. He's a sneaky little shit just like you."

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:50 AM  

  • I don't know. I think Cheney's far more evil than Dean Wormer.

    Besides, they're looking for someone to take the press heat, not someone to actually do anything.

    Mike

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 1:14 PM  

  • I think I'd rather be employed as the sharpness tester on the executioner's ax than war 'freaking' czar for this cabal of madmen.

    but that's just me.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:20 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home