Air Force News, news from Iraq - Air Force Times

War czar nominee: Mixed results for surge

WASHINGTON — The escalation of U.S. troops in Iraq has produced mixed results, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, President Bush’s choice as top White House war adviser, told a Senate panel Thursday.

Lute expressed concern about the so-called surge of troops before Bush announced the new plan in January, Lute said in written testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Those concerns, he wrote, centered on the need for greater involvement of Iraqis and non-military agencies of the U.S. government in rebuilding the country.

Some of those concerns remain — such as the Iraqi government’s failure to take hold of the country, Lute said Thursday. Other problems, he said, include interference from neighboring Iran and Syria.

“I’d assess at this point that the Iraqi participation in the surge has been uneven so far,” Lute said. “And I think we’re in the early days, and time will tell.”

Lute is now the director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon. In his new job, Lute would be a deputy national security adviser coordinating the government’s military and nation-building efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he would brief the president daily on the war.

Senators praised Lute for his 32 years of military service and willingness to take the job. Many, including Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said they would support his nomination.

Reed said however that the need for a war adviser “represents a devastating critique of the national security apparatus of this White House.”

Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who chairs the committee, said Lute would inherit a messy situation in Iraq.

“He will be responsible for bringing coherence to an incoherent policy — a policy that is still floundering after more than four years of war in Iraq,” Levin said.

Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama said Lute could help coordinate the administration’s response to problems in Iraq.

“The president has done well in choosing a military person who has real background in that area, who’s got the gumption to identify problems and confront them and help him solve them,” Sessions said.

Levin also pressed Lute on whether the debate in Congress over war funding and proposed deadlines for the withdrawal of U.S. troops has affected morale. Last month, Bush signed an emergency war-funding bill that lacked deadlines that some Democrats wanted. Instead, it has “benchmarks” for the Iraqi government to meet in return for continuing U.S. aid.

Lute said troops understand the debate is a part of democracy.

“I don’t believe it undercuts their morale,” Lute said.

No date has been set for a vote on Lute’s nomination, which must be approved by the full Senate.