Bush Can’t Find a War Czar? Big Shock!

What stunning news. The White House can’t find a general interested in being war czar in charge of overseeing both operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. If we held a “Most Thankless Job” contest, where would War Czar for the Bush wars of 2007 rank?

One prospect, retired Gen. John “Jack” Sheehan, former NATO commander, told the Washington Post “they don’t know where the hell they’re going,” and explained that the power of hawks like Vice President Cheney still trumps the realists in the administration who are searching for an end to the war. “So rather than go over there, develop an ulcer and eventually leave, I said, ‘No, thanks,'” he said in what is considered in Washington to be a VERY bold on-the-record statement for a military man.

This might have been a prudent, necessary plan a while ago. Coordination of military and civilian efforts is a behemoth that spreads across the Pentagon and the State Department. Someone, administration sources say, with stature and ability needs to be in charge of the chain of command. Imagine what good it could have done in, let’s say, 2003.

But now the Bush administration, which sought to keep this idea a secret, has yet another embarrassing story on the front of the newspaper because none of the qualified people at the top of their list wanted the responsibility of trying to resurrect a disaster. Now that we know this, what should we think of anyone who does accept the challenge?