Official: White House looking for 'war czar'

Story Highlights

• Person who holds the post needs diplomatic skills, official says
• Filling post is urgent, but no takers yet, official says
• Hadley is considering retired or active military officers and civilians, official says
• Democrats have ridiculed plan, saying job is Bush's

From Ed Henry
CNN Washington Bureau

Adjust font size:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- White House aides, with U.S. President George W. Bush's blessing, are actively trying to hire a new point person to help pilot the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an administration official told CNN.

"There's an urgency to get this done," the official said, in referring to the administration's new security plan for Iraq. "Implementation and execution are critical now."

The "war czar" would report directly to Bush with the power to tell Cabinet secretaries what to do -- and yet have the diplomatic skills not "to use that tone of voice," the official said. (Watch why the proposal has drawn critics )

The official title would be assistant to the president for Iraq and Afghanistan policy implementation, the official added. The idea behind the post is to make sure "Washington is responsive to military and civilian needs" on a timely basis and reduce bureaucratic problems that have hampered war efforts, the official said.

Pressed on why the new position is being created now, after more than five years of war in Afghanistan and four years in Iraq, the official acknowledged that "implementation and execution is as important" as "policy development."

With Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq under way and a new team of generals in place, the creation of one point of contact for all the agencies and departments involved is timely, the official said.

While implementation work "is being done now," not enough is getting done because National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley is stretched thin, the official said.

Speaking of the pace of the job search, the administration official said the desire would be to have it filled "yesterday -- if that's not available, then the day before."

While a candidate for the post has not been presented to Bush, Hadley has sounded out a "handful" of people who might fill the job, the official said.

The White House has insisted nobody has yet been formally offered the post.

Hadley is considering retired and active-duty military officers as well as civilians, the official said. The immediate goal is to find two or three interested candidates and then have them spend time with Bush, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, before making a final selection, the official said.

At least three four-star generals approached by the White House about the job have declined consideration, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Some Democrats have ridiculed the idea of a "war czar," saying that should be Bush's role as commander-in-chief.