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White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 4/11/07 (War Czar)
— Wednesday, April 11, 2007 — Go ahead, Suzanne. Q Dana, if I could follow. Representative Rahm Emanuel has put out a statement about this, saying, "The Washington Post reports that the White House wants to appoint a war czar to run the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but they can't find anyone to do it -- someone needs to tell Steve Hadley that position is filled -- it's the Commander-in-Chief, unless the decider has become the delegator." Do you see his point? MS. PERINO: Well, I think it's really interesting coming from somebody who works with 217 other members of Congress who think that they are Commanders-in-Chief. The President is the Commander-in-Chief. He has had no trouble attracting very high caliber talent to positions across the administration, even late in the administration. And I think that it is a responsible thing to consider whether or not a restructuring is needed. I think it behooves us to consider a wide variety of opinions and to consult widely to see how we move forward, to make sure that these policies are implemented for the benefit of our men and women who are on the ground fighting for us, as well as the innocent Iraqis and Afghanis who are working to make their democracies work in the heart of the Middle East. Q I think the point he's making, and some other Democrats, is four years after the war, why is the White House now considering a position to put somebody in power, in place that would be able to coordinate between the agencies and have the power to implement the policies? MS. PERINO: I think that's unfair, Suzanne, because I think that there's a lack of understanding of what Meghan O'Sullivan and Stephen Hadley and J.D. Crouch and other members of the National Security Council have been doing. They have been doing this work -- this idea for a restructuring is one that comes at a time that, after six years, when Meghan O'Sullivan has said that it's time for her to move on from public service, that it's natural that we would consider how best to make sure that that office is most effective. And I think that anybody who misunderstands exactly what we are trying to do in this position is only trying to -- I think that it might be a clever sound bite, but I think it was quite a cheap political shot. Q From the Democrats? MS. PERINO: Yes.
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 2:25 PM
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