OK, so he just believes in sucking up

So the White House has finally found its “war czar” -- someone to coordinate efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq -- after three generals turned down the job. But here's the funny thing about the czar, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute: Early last year, he (like most Pentagon officials) was saying publicly that extra troops in Iraq would be a bad idea.

“You have to undercut the perception of occupation in Iraq. It’s very difficult to do that when you have 150,000-plus, largely western, foreign troops occupying the country,” Lt. Gen. Lute told Charlie Rose in 2006.

I wonder: Does the general still believe that? Because, if so, it puts him squarely against the centerpiece of the current strategy in Iraq: the “surge” of tens of thousands of additional soldiers.

Link: Danger Room - Wired Blogs