Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq
WASHINGTON, May 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday chose Lieutenant General Douglas Lute as the "war czar" to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I have chosen Lieutenant General Douglas Lute to serve as assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan," Bush said in a statement.
Bush said Lute, currently serving as the director of operations of the Joint Staff and a former leader of U.S. military forces in the Middle East, "is a tremendously accomplished military leader who understands war and government and knows how to get things done."
In the new position, Lute would be "the full-time manager for the implementation and execution of our strategies for Iraq and Afghanistan, and will manage the interagency policy development process for these two theaters," Bush said.
Lute, 54, has been director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff since September last year. Before that, he served as director of operations at U.S. Central Command.
The Washington Post reported last month that the White House intended to appoint a "war czar" to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that the high-power post would have authority to issue directions to the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies.
The administration's interest in the idea stemmed from long-standing concern over the coordination of civilian and military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan by different parts of the U.S. government, but at least three retired four-star generals had declined the offer, according to the report.
Bush says he is open to benchmarks in Iraq bill
WASHINGTON, May 10 (Xinhua) -- In a political shift, U.S. President George W. Bush said Thursday that he is willing to work with lawmakers to include benchmarks for the performance of the Iraqi government in a war spending bill.
However, he also reaffirmed that he will veto any bill to cover only the costs of war in next two months when speaking to reporters at Pentagon.Full story
Most Americans disapprove of Bush's Iraq veto: poll
WASHINGTON, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The majority of Americans disapprove of U.S. President George W. Bush's decision to veto a war spending bill that called for U.S. troops to leave Iraq in 2008, according to a CNN poll released Wednesday.
The poll found that 54 percent of Americans opposed Bush's May 1 veto, while 44 percent backed the president's decision to kill the 124-billion-U.S.-dollar bill. Full story
Afghan rebel leader says Bin Laden alive
ABU DHABI, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden is still alive but keeping a low profile, anti-U.S. Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said in a video aired late Sunday.
"According to my information I think that Osama is still alive," Hekmatyar said in the video released by Al-Arabiya television.Full story
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