Whither the War Czar?

Steve Benen notes that LTG Douglas Lute was officially confirmed as our “war czar” a month ago and has all but disappeared from sight.

On July 8, Lute was mentioned in passing in a Bob Novak column. Two days later, a report in Congressional Quarterly noted that Lute called some senators about Bush’s policy during the recent debate, but we don’t know what he said or whom he spoke with.

And that’s it. Since taking over NSA Stephen Hadley’s responsibilities for Iraq and Afghanistan, Lute has not been interviewed on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, or PBS. He has not appeared on any national radio show. He has not been quoted in any newspapers.

Perhaps most importantly of all — maybe he’s media shy? — Lute has not been mentioned by Bush, Cheney, or Tony Snow, in any capacity, since he was confirmed by the Senate.

I must admit, it’s rather odd.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. More to the point, aside from being named was he ever in sight?

    I know I couldn’t pick him out of a line up.

  2. Ugh says:

    They found a better person to blame for the failure in Gen. Petraeus.

  3. Triumph says:

    If Nicholas II was an exemplar of Czarness, lets be glad that Lute has been keeping a low profile!