Oh goody! We have a war czar!!

NOW we will win the war! (Via Atrios at Eschaton):

After a frustrating search for a new "war czar" to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, ABC News has learned that President Bush has chosen the Pentagon's director of operations, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, for the role.

Oh, look! What is this? He belongs to a military organization called the Officer's Christian Fellowship:

Analyst Douglas Lute of the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict has noted four characteristics of future responses to these threats that describe the changing demands on future military leaders.

First, responses will be multidimensional and interdependent. For example, while the military was preparing for Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991, some senior officers were a part of an interagency team of political and military leaders working to avoid combat while helping to form the Allied Coalition.

Increasingly, it is likely that future operations will involve various governmental and nongovernmental agencies and multinational forces. Humanitarian assistance operations will be a continuing role of the U.S. military, and law enforcement could be as well, particularly in the area of drug interdiction.

Second, responses will be dynamic. When a crisis requires the commitment of military forces, we can expect forces to be introduced in complex simultaneous operations.

Other agencies will also be involved to provide humanitarian relief, economic development, and political training. Coordination across agency and national boundaries will demand leaders with strong negotiating and communicating skills.

Third, responses will require a long-term view by leaders at all levels. Involvement in the Balkans taught us this hard lesson. When our national leaders agreed to use our forces to prevent genocide, it was hoped that the commitment would be for a limited duration.

The harsh reality is that the situation may demand a long-term commitment. Future operations will require us to look to the far horizon.

Finally, we in the military must be constantly aware of the essential fact that the primary mission of the Armed Forces is to prepare for and fight, when necessary, the nation's wars. The soldier, sailor, airman, and marine-and their leaders-must remain trained and always ready to face the perils of war.

Two Unchanging Needs for a Leader

In the midst of these changing threats and shifting priorities, the need for men and women with integrity and character will not change. These two attributes are often taken as one, but integrity is the more specific. Proverbs 13:6 states, "Righteousness guards the man of integrity." Integrity comes from a Latin root meaning completeness or wholeness.

The article goes on, but... someone needs to ask him if Islam is the religion of the devil, if we need to convert everyone in the military to Christianity, and if the Rapture is going to happen in our lifetimes.

And why do we need a war czar when we have the Deciderer and the Commander Guy? Aren't they the Commander in Chiefs?

Update 5/16:
Bryan of Why Now?

This is not going to work. We already have too many four-star flag officers and another one is not going to simplify anything. This appointment is a slap in the face to both Admiral Fallon and General Petraeus who have only recently been appointed. Both men along with General McNeill would be justified in requesting retirement after this obvious insult.

From the first day they set foot in the White House, these people have failed to understand the role of the National Security Council and the National Security Advisor. That’s where the coordination is supposed to take place, and that’s where it has never taken place.

And via Bryan, this article on Lute's wife:

Jane Holl Lute is Assistant Secretary-General for peacekeeping operations at the United Nations with specific responsibilities for personnel, finance, and logistical support necessary to mount and sustain UN field-based peace operations world-wide.

Ms. Lute joined the United Nations from the United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund where she served as executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Previously, Ms. Lute directed the project on the Role of American Military Power for the Association of the United States Army and was a senior public policy fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Center for Scholars. From 1994-1999 she was the executive director of the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict. Before joining Carnegie, Ms. Lute was director for European affairs on the national security council staff at the White House, serving under both presidents Bush and Clinton from 1991-1994.

A career officer in the United States Army, she held command, served in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, taught political science at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and served in Europe. Ms. Lute retired from the Army in 1994.

She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University, a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and is a member of the Virginia bar.

She is married to Major General Douglas E. Lute, and they have three daughters.

Hmmm. If Lute is married to this woman, he just might not be so bad.....