Bush Pick for War Adviser Says Consider Withdrawal (Update2)
By Tony Capaccio and Jeff Bliss
bloomberg.com
June 7 (Bloomberg) -- Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, a skeptic of the troop increase in Iraq and President George W. Bush's choice to oversee the war, said withdrawing troops may pressure the Iraqi government to make needed changes.
Under questioning from Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, Lute said the Michigan Democrat may be correct in his long-held assertion that the Iraqi government will only work to end sectarian strife if it has to.
A withdrawal ``ought to be considered,'' Lute, 54, said during the committee's hearing in Washington on his nomination as a coordinator of war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While praising Lute's qualifications, Levin said the new position had little authority, making it difficult for Lute to be effective. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a Bush confidante, has been unable to reshape the administration's war policy, Levin said. ``One has to wonder, how does one expect that General Lute can be more successful?''
Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, told Lute that, while he would support him, ``I don't think I'm doing you a favor'' because he would be put in an ``impossible situation.''
The committee's Republicans offered a more optimistic assessment of the impact Lute could have, although none said he could reverse the trend of deepening violence among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds and their anger at the U.S. occupation.
`Straightforward Advice'
Senator John Warner, a Republican from Virginia, said the most important aspect of Lute's job would be to ``give the president impartial, straightforward advice'' on the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Senator Hillary Clinton, a panel member and Democratic presidential candidate, said in an interview that Lute will have difficulty penetrating ``the closed circle of decision-makers in the White House.''
``They are impervious to evidence and arguments,'' said Clinton, a New York lawmaker.
Lute is currently director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Defense Department, a position he's held since September 2006. Before that, he served for 15 months as director of operations for the U.S. Central Command, which includes Afghanistan and Iraq. He was in charge of overseeing daily combat operations, taking reports from combat commanders and reporting directly to General John Abizaid, who then headed the command.
Assistant to Bush
In his new position, Lute would become an assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan. He would manage the administration's strategies in both conflicts and coordinate the policies of U.S. government agencies with roles in both countries, including the Defense and State Departments.
Senators asked whether Lute would take over some of the duties of National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.
Lute said he would be a ``teammate'' with Hadley, sitting next to him at meetings of senior members of the president's National Security Council. Hadley's ``role is not diminished by this appointment,'' Lute said.
Lute told the committee that he was skeptical when first presented with the administration's plan to increase troop strength in Iraq by 21,000.
`Concerns'
``I registered concerns that a military `surge' would likely have only temporary and localized effects unless it were accompanied by counterpart `surges' by the Iraqi government and the other non-military agencies of the U.S. government,'' Lute said.
The final troop-increase plan ``took such concerns into account,'' but progress to date is ``uneven,'' he said.
``We face persistent violence, insufficient progress in governance and the economy and unhelpful influences from Syria and Iran,'' he said.
The U.S. military reported today that another U.S. soldier in Iraq was killed by a roadside bomb, pushing the death toll for American forces there to 3,501, the Associated Press reported from Baghdad.
Bush nominated Lute, a three-star general, May 15. Senate approval is required by law when high-ranking military officers are reassigned. Most approvals are done without a hearing, but the committee deemed this one necessary given the high profile of the new job he would assume.
No date for the committee's vote on Lute was set. His nomination must be approved by the full Senate.
A West Point graduate, Lute began his military career in 1976 as a platoon leader with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and eventually rose to commander. He fought with that regiment in Operation Desert Storm, the 1991 Gulf war in Iraq, according to his official Defense Department biography.
To contact the reporters on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net ; Jeff Bliss in Washington jbliss@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: June 7, 2007 15:56 EDT |
