The Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan, also known by the

informal Formal, formality, informal or informality imply the complying with, or not complying with, some set of requirements (forms, in Ancient Greek). They may refer to: Dress code and events * Formal wear, attire for formal events * Semi-formal attir ...

expression War Czar, was a position the

George W. Bush administration George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic ...

created to oversee the wars in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

with authority to issue directions to

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...

, the State Department, and other agencies. Previous to the creation of the 'war czar' position,

Deputy National Security Advisor The United States Deputy National Security Advisor is a member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and the United States National Security Council, serving under the President's National Security Advisor. Among other res ...

Meghan O'Sullivan was primarily responsible for White House programs related to the war, under the direction of the National Security Advisor, Stephen J. Hadley and without authority to issue interagency orders. O'Sullivan's resignation allowed the administration the opportunity to reorganize. The position was offered to three retired

generals A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

John J. Sheehan John Joseph "Jack" Sheehan (born August 23, 1940) is a retired United States Marine Corps general. His final active duty commands, culminating 35 years of service in the Marine Corps, were as the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) for ...

Jack Keane John M. "Jack" Keane (born February 1, 1943) is a retired American four-star general, a former Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is a national security analyst, primarily on F ...

, and

Joseph Ralston General Joseph Wood Ralston (born November 4, 1943) is currently the United States Special Envoy for countering the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and holds senior positions in various defense related corporations. He was previously a career offic ...

,Baker, Peter and Ricks, Thomas.
3 Generals Spurn the Position of War "Czar"
'. ''The Washington Post'', April 23, 2007 before the appointment of Lieutenant General (United States), Lieutenant General Douglas Lute in May 2007;Bush Taps New 'War Czar'
''American Broadcasting Company, ABC.com. Accessed on May 15, 2007.BBC NEWS,
US names general to be 'war tsar'
', May 15, 2007 Lute was confirmed by the United States Senate, Senate on June 28, 2007, and reported both to the President and the National Security Advisor with the rank of full "Executive Office of the President of the United States, Assistant to the President." He continued to hold this position in the Barack Obama administration. Under President Obama, he then answered to new National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon. The positions were abolished after Lute's demitting from office.

Notes

{{reflist, 2 Foreign relations of the United States United States presidential advisors

See also

Notes