What A Bloody Mess

Where to begin?

First off the word is spelled TSAR, not CZAR. The Tsars were Russian and that’s how Russians pronounce the word. The Cyrillic letter “Ц” is extremely consistent in its pronunciation.

The title Tsar [Царь] is the shortened version of the Roman family name, Caesar [Цецарь], which was later [John IV the Awesome, 1547] used as a title. The same name was used as the title of the German emperor, Kaiser.

Ellroon’s Rants from the Rookery was the first place I saw it mentioned that the Shrubbery had found someone to accept the “one ring to rule them all”.

While he doesn’t appear to have the reduced physical stature of a Hobbit, Lieutenant General Douglas E. Lute, is a bit short of rank as he has three stars and a date of promotion of 08/16/2006. He has to be among the more junior Lieutenant Generals in the Army. Actually his wife, Dr. Jane Holl Lute, has more rank as the Assistant Secretary-General for peacekeeping operations at the United Nations.

What makes the Shrubbery think that the Senate, the United Nations, and NATO are going to go along with this? What makes the White House think C. David Welch, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, is going to agree to this?

In the Iraq operation, LTG Frodo, in theory, will be giving orders to Admiral William J. Fallon, Commander Central Command [four stars], and General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General Multi-National Force – Iraq [four stars], as well as Mr. Welsh and his subordinates.

If that sounds iffy, how about Afghanistan which is no longer a US operation, in fact, involves the International Security Assistance Force, a NATO force created by the United Nations under UNSCR 1386.

The current Commander of ISAF is General Dan K. McNeill [four stars], a US officer, but he replaced a Lithuanian general and he reports to Brussels.

This is not going to work. We already have too many four-star flag officers and another one is not going to simplify anything. This appointment is a slap in the face to both Admiral Fallon and General Petraeus who have only recently been appointed. Both men along with General McNeill would be justified in requesting retirement after this obvious insult.

From the first day they set foot in the White House, these people have failed to understand the role of the National Security Council and the National Security Advisor. That’s where the coordination is supposed to take place, and that’s where it has never taken place.