View Full Version : Another Tanker to Lead a FID/COIN Effort
The Reaper
05-15-2007, 15:15
No wonder our guys in theater are handicapped by the conventional leadership.:rolleyes:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,272571,00.html
Bush Taps Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute as 'War Czar' for Iraq, Afghanistan
Tuesday , May 15, 2007
President Bush has chosen Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, the Pentagon'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.
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 general, according to a Pentagon official.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because 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.
Well, at least NDD should like him.
Lieutenant General
Douglas E. Lute
Director for Operations, J-3
Douglas E. Lute, originally from Michigan City, Indiana, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1975. His first assignment was to the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment in Bindlach, Germany, where he commanded C Troop. He received a master's degree from Harvard University and taught in the Social Sciences department at West Point.
Following attendance at the British Army Staff College, he returned to the Second Cavalry as operations officer, serving both at the squadron and regimental levels. In 1990-91 he deployed and fought with the Regiment in Operation DESERT STORM, and later served on the staff of the Chief of Staff of the Army.
He commanded 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry at Fort Hood, Texas from 1992-94. He then served on the Joint Staff in the Directorate for Strategic Plans and Policy, J-5, and held a War College Fellowship at the Atlantic Council in Washington.
From 1998-2000 he commanded the Second Cavalry Regiment, part of XVIII Airborne Corps, at Fort Polk, Louisiana. 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 commanded Multi-national Brigade East in Kosovo for 6 months in 2002 before being assigned to US European Command in January 2003 as the Deputy Director of Operations.
In June 2004, he began more than two years as Director of Operations (J-3) at US Central Command during which he oversaw combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as other operations in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa. He assumed duties as Director of Operations, the Joint Staff, in September 2006.
The Cav boys will be along shortly to remind us of the diff. between Cav and Tankers:D
The Cav boys will be along shortly to remind us of the diff. between Cav and Tankers:D
If that was an invite, here it goes.
Tankers are good when you need a 120mm lesson in diplomacy.
Cavalrymen wear silly hats, steel spurs, and can gain info on the battlefield without ruining everything. They're also good if you want to throw a killer party. :D
The Reaper
05-15-2007, 18:43
If that was an invite, here it goes.
Tankers are good when you need a 120mm lesson in diplomacy.
Cavalrymen wear silly hats, steel spurs, and can gain info on the battlefield without ruining everything. They're also good if you want to throw a killer party. :D
I always thought that they did the "Die in Place" screening mission.
When we had the bridge demolition mission in the infantry, they always said to keep an eye out for the last, and probably only surviving tank from the ACR who had the screen. We never saw them in the plan again, so I guess that was pretty much an accepted catastrophic loss mission.
Nothing wrong with the 120mm RheinMetall diplomacy, AT THE RIGHT PLACE AND TIME. I do not see Afghanistan being that place or time.
TR
I always thought that they did the "Die in Place" screening mission.
When we had the bridge demolition mission in the infantry, they always said to keep an eye out for the last, and probably only surviving tank from the ACR who had the screen. We never saw them in the plan again, so I guess that was pretty much an accepted catastrophic loss mission.
Nothing wrong with the 120mm RheinMetall diplomacy, AT THE RIGHT PLACE AND TIME. I do not see Afghanistan being that place or time.
TR
You hit the nail on the head. Screens, Guards, and Covers are like chumming when you're trolling for sharks.
Agreed on the application of kinetic diplomacy in the form of a Sabot or HEAT in Afghanistan. No use, no need, no reason.
Peregrino
05-15-2007, 19:53
kinetic diplomacy .
Nice catchy phrase. I'm misappropriating it. :D As for LTG Lute - ????? We'll have to wait & see. Peregrino
Ret10Echo
05-16-2007, 04:45
Cavalrymen wear silly hats, steel spurs, and can gain info on the battlefield without ruining everything. They're also good if you want to throw a killer party. :D
They also get upset when asked....
"If I step on your spur, does the top of your hat open..."
Friday's at the club were never the same:D
They also get upset when asked....
"If I step on your spur, does the top of your hat open..."
Friday's at the club were never the same:D
I'm using that on the CG on Friday......:D
NousDefionsDoc
05-16-2007, 07:51
GAWD! Is there no end to it?
82ndtrooper
05-16-2007, 08:27
I still have the image of Robert Duvall wearing the "Silly Hat" with his shirt off examining the breaks in the surf as everyone else is seeking cover.
"I love the smell of napalm in the morning, it smells like..........Victory" :cool:
The Reaper
05-16-2007, 08:29
I'm using that on the CG on Friday......:D
I like that. A real risk taker and an officer who likes to live on the edge.:D
Probably not going to make the BG list, but you can look in the mirror to shave everyday. And if Yingling was right, that is not too bad.
TR
CoLawman
05-16-2007, 08:37
I still have the image of Robert Duvall wearing the "Silly Hat" with his shirt off examining the breaks in the surf as everyone else is seeking cover.
"I love the smell of napalm in the morning, it smells like..........DEATH" :cool:
How dare you misquote one of the great lines.....
...it smells like.........VICTORY!:lifter
82ndtrooper
05-16-2007, 10:18
How dare you misquote one of the great lines.....
...it smells like.........VICTORY!:lifter
Are ya happy now Chief ? (corrected to reflect the famous Robert Duvall line);)
Please dont hit me with that ASP you might lose it after multiple strikes. :D
I like that. A real risk taker and an officer who likes to live on the edge.:D
Probably not going to make the BG list, but you can look in the mirror to shave everyday. And if Yingling was right, that is not too bad.
TR
So long as the mirror isn't hanging in my cell at Leavenworth....:D
So long as the mirror isn't hanging in my cell at Leavenworth....:Dif you are still indentured to the BOLC, you are being punished up front...having been an IOBC Platoon Trainer, i understand your pain...:p
if you are still indentured to the BOLC, you are being punished up front...having been an IOBC Platoon Trainer, i understand your pain...:p
Then you know how it is....every day is a Wednesday. Only (at least) a year left.....:boohoo
Sinister
05-16-2007, 16:15
Washington Post
May 16, 2007
Pg. 1
Bush Taps Skeptic Of Buildup As 'War Czar'
Lt. Gen. Lute Accepts Position Others Spurned
By Peter Baker and Robin Wright, Washington Post Staff Writers
President Bush tapped Army Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute yesterday to serve as a new White House "war czar" overseeing the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, choosing a low-key soldier who privately expressed skepticism about sending more troops to Iraq during last winter's strategy review.
In the newly created position, Lute will coordinate often disjointed military and civilian operations and manage the Washington side of the same troop increase he resisted before Bush announced the plan in January. Bush hopes an empowered aide working in the White House and answering directly to him will be able to cut through bureaucracy that has hindered efforts in Iraq.
The selection capped a difficult recruitment process for the White House, as its initial candidates rejected the job. At least five retired four-star generals approached by the White House or intermediaries refused to be considered. Lute, a three-star general now serving as chief operations officer on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in effect will jump over many superiors as he moves to the West Wing and assumes authority to deal directly with Cabinet secretaries and top commanders.
"General Lute is a tremendously accomplished military leader who understands war and government and knows how to get things done," Bush said in a statement.
In choosing Lute, Bush picked a key internal voice of dissent during the administration review that led to the troop increase. Reflecting the views of other members of the Joint Chiefs, Lute argued that a short-term "surge" would do little good and that any sustained increase in forces had to be matched by equal emphasis on political and economic steps, according to officials informed about the deliberations.
Lute believed the situation in Iraq reflected the same mistakes as the ineffective and disorganized response to Hurricane Katrina, according to a source familiar with the debate. Like others at the Pentagon, he was also irked because civilian agencies, in his view, had not done nearly enough to help stabilize Iraq. And he was outspoken about the increasing strains on the U.S. military, officials said.
National security adviser Stephen J. Hadley said Lute raised his concerns during talks before his selection. "He had the same skepticism a lot of us had," Hadley said. "That's one of the reasons we designed the strategy the way we did." By joining the White House, Hadley said, Lute can ensure that the economic and political elements of the plan are implemented. "In some sense, he's part of the cure for the problems he was concerned about."
Until Bush decided this spring to create the position, the highest-ranking White House official working exclusively on Iraq and Afghanistan was a deputy national security adviser reporting to Hadley. Lute, by contrast, will have the rank of assistant to the president, just as Hadley does, and report directly to Bush, while also holding the title of deputy national security adviser.
The new war czar will consult with generals and diplomats in the field each morning, then join Hadley in briefing Bush and spend the rest of the day talking with officials such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to resolve any issues. "The goal is same-day service -- identify the problem in the morning and fix it in the afternoon," Hadley said. Unlike an earlier version of the plan, Hadley said, Lute will oversee both policy and implementation, assisted by a staff of 11.
The position does not require congressional approval, but Lute will need Senate approval because he is an active-duty officer. Hadley said he is not concerned that a three-star officer will be directing superiors. "The issue is not the number of stars," he said.
Some Iraq experts were encouraged. "This is an unusually talented guy," said Ellen Laipson, president of the Henry L. Stimson Center, who returned from Iraq yesterday. "He's one of those intellectual soldiers who also exudes strong personal leadership qualities."
Yet Lute will face enormous obstacles four years into the war. "The most serious problem everyone has in any coordinated approach to Iraq is that the problems are beyond his control -- including relations between the White House and Congress," said Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "He is also a coordinator who works for a White House that has no long-term plan or strategy."
That was the reason given by other generals who turned down the job, including retired Marine Gen. John J. "Jack" Sheehan. "I wish the guy luck," Sheehan said of Lute yesterday. "He's got his work cut out for him."
Critics said the appointment underscores Bush's failures. "Whatever the name of the position is, this proves the president is throwing in the towel when it comes to directing the military, and is giving up his constitutional role," said Jon Soltz, co-founder of the antiwar VoteVets.org. "The troops are now depending on Lt. Gen. Lute to do something the president wouldn't -- listen to commanders who are telling him we need more diplomacy, not escalation."
Lute, 54, a native of Michigan City, Ind., graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1975 and later earned a master's degree from Harvard University. He fought in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and then spent most of the next decade rotating between unit commands and high-profile Pentagon assignments. He commanded a multinational peacekeeping brigade in Kosovo for six months in 2002.
In June 2004, Lute was named operations director at the U.S. Central Command, which oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, then moved last September to serve the same role for the Joint Chiefs. He cites ancient Greek historian Thucydides as his favorite military scholar for helping him understand the connection between civil society and armed forces.
In an interview with Charlie Rose of PBS in January 2006, Lute said the military wanted "to see a smaller, lighter, less prominent U.S. force structure in Iraq," both to undercut the perception of occupation and to prevent what he called "dependency syndrome" -- the notion that U.S. forces will do what is necessary and therefore local forces do not need to step up.
Ultimately, he said, Iraqis need to forge a political solution. "Our purpose is not fundamentally to draw down U.S. forces, but rather to produce a durable, reasonable solution in Iraq," Lute said. "And that absolutely hinges on the ability of the Shia, apparently the simple majority Shia, to produce a compromise solution that is inclusive of the other two major parties, the Sunni and the Kurds."
Americans Against Escalation in Iraq instantly developed a newspaper ad yesterday that cites a similar quote Lute gave to the Financial Times in 2005, asserting that at some point "you simply have to back off and let the Iraqis step forward," and that undercutting the perception of occupation in Iraq is "very difficult" to do "when you have 150,000-plus, largely Western, foreign troops occupying the country."
Staff writer Thomas E. Ricks contributed to this report.