News - President looks for a new General of the Armies

The Washington Post is reporting that President Bush is looking for a "War Czar" to lead the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and issue commands to the DoD and State Department. In other words he is looking for a General of the Armies, a rank last held by John Pershing.

Link to the WaPo article on MSNBC.com:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18026723/

Some highlights of the article:

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.

Translation - Even the megalomaniacs don't want this baby.

The administration's interest in the idea stems from long-standing concern over the coordination of civilian and military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan by different parts of the U.S. government. The Defense and State departments have long struggled over their roles and responsibilities in Iraq, with the White House often forced to referee.

Translation - Presidentin' is hard work. It only took 5 years for them to realize this.

Personally, I think it's a good idea as long as the position has teeth and the person who takes the position is a true leader, not some manager with a staff of drones. The Iraq war needs to end and the strategy in Afghanistan needs to be refocused but to get us from where we are today to where we need to be are millions of miles apart. A leader with vision and guts can do it but where are we going to find such a person and will Lockheed/Haliburton/Dick Cheney allow it?