American retired general
Lt. Gen. Douglas Edward Lute (born November 3, 1952) is a retired
United States Army
lieutenant general and public servant who served as the
United States permanent representative to NATO from 2013 to 2017. He was nominated for the post by President Obama on May 23, 2013, confirmed by the Senate on August 1, 2013 by voice vote,
[1] and assumed his position on September 3, 2013.
[2]
On May 15, 2007, Lute was appointed by
George W. Bush to serve as
assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan .
The New York Times referred to him as the "War Czar," since he occupied a senior advisory position responsible for overseeing the wars in
Iraq and
Afghanistan .
[3] He was asked to stay on by new President
Barack Obama as Obama's special assistant and senior coordinator for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
[4] After leaving active duty in 2010,
[5] Lute remained in his position on the National Security Staff. He is married to
Jane Holl Lute , who was the
deputy secretary of homeland security
[6] from 2009 to 2013.
Education
Lute was born in
Michigan City ,
Indiana , on November 3, 1952. He graduated from the
United States Military Academy at West Point in 1975. His first assignment was to the
2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in
Bindlach ,
Germany , where he commanded C Troop. He earned a
MPA degree from
Harvard Kennedy School at
Harvard University in 1983 and taught in the Department of Social Science at West Point.
[7]
Second Cavalry
Following attendance at the
British Army Staff College , he returned to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment as operations officer, serving both at the
squadron and
regimental levels. In 1990–91 he deployed and fought with the regiment in
Operation Desert Storm , and later served on the staff of the
chief of staff of the United States Army .
[7]
Advancement
Lute commanded
1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry at
Fort Hood ,
Texas , in 1992–94. He then served on the Joint Staff in the J-5 Directorate for Strategic Plans and Policy, and held a War College Fellowship at the
Atlantic Council in
Washington, D.C.
[8]
Lt. Gen. Lute and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East
Mark Kimmitt conduct a press briefing, February 9, 2007.
From 1998 to 2000 he commanded the Second Cavalry Regiment, part of
XVIII Airborne Corps , at
Fort Polk ,
Louisiana . In 2001, he was appointed
brigadier general .
[9] He served next as the executive assistant to the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for 14 months before joining the
1st Infantry Division in
Schweinfurt , Germany, as the Assistant Division Commander (Support).
[10] He commanded
Multinational Brigade East in
Kosovo
[11] for six months in 2002 before being assigned to
United States European Command in January 2003 as the deputy director of operations.
[10]
In June 2004, Lute began more than two years as director of operations (J-3) at
United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), during which he oversaw combat operations in
Iraq and
Afghanistan as well as other operations in the
Middle East ,
Central Asia , and the
Horn of Africa .
[7] He was appointed to the rank of
major general in 2004,
[12] and to the rank of
lieutenant general in 2006.
[13] He assumed the duties of director of operations of the Pentagon's Joint Staff in September 2006.
[14]
National Security Council
On June 28, 2007, the
Senate confirmed Lute to serve as the deputy national security advisor. He remained in the position after his retirement from active duty in 2010.
[15]
On 10 August 2007, Lute stated that the United States should "consider" reinstating the military draft to relieve the "stressed" volunteer service from multiple tours of duty.
[16] This was immediately followed by a comment that it would be a major policy shift and that he did not see a current need for a draft.
[17]
Awards and decorations
During his military career he received:
[18]
Lobbying
In January 2021, Lute joined
BGR Group to chair its international and defense practices.
[19]
References
^
"Douglas Lute confirmation" . August 2013.
^ Press statement from the White House, Office of the Press Secretary, May 23, 2013
^
"Bush picks Gen. Lute to "war czar" for Iraq" .
Reuters . 15 May 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2007 .
^ Cooper, Helene (2009-01-13).
"War Czar for Bush to Keep His Job" . The New York Times . Retrieved 2009-03-18 .
^
"Ambassador Doug Lute – Keough School – University of Notre Dame" . Retrieved 2019-01-15 .
^
"Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute" . Washington Post Politics . Archived from
the original on 2019-01-15. Retrieved 2019-01-15 .
^
a
b
c Tucker, Spencer C. (2010-10-08).
The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts [5 volumes]: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts . ABC-CLIO.
ISBN
9781851099481 .
^
"Former Commander MNB East Brigadier General Douglas E. Lute US, Army" . nato.int . Retrieved 2019-01-15 .
^
"Flag and General Officer Announcements" . DefenseLink . May 22, 2001. Retrieved 2007-08-12 .
^
a
b FELLER, BEN (2007-05-15).
"Bush Names Pentagon General 'War Czar' " . Washington Post . Retrieved 2019-01-15 .
^
"Douglas Lute" . Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs . Retrieved 2019-01-15 .
^
"Flag and General Officer Announcements" . DefenseLink . October 29, 2004. Retrieved 2007-08-12 .
^
"General Officer Announcement" . DefenseLink . July 19, 2006. Retrieved 2007-08-12 .
^
"Meet President Bush's new 'war czar' " . SooToday.com . Retrieved 2019-01-15 .
^
"Obama may pick Lute for European command" .
The Washington Post . February 5, 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-05 .
^
"Iraq war czar: Consider a draft" . Associated Press. August 10, 2007. Archived from
the original on 2007-08-14. Retrieved 2007-08-11 .
^
Liberal Lobby Lacks Context
Archived 2007-09-30 at the
Wayback Machine . FactCheck.org. Retrieved on 2012-03-01.
^
Riley.army.mil
Archived July 28, 2010, at the
Wayback Machine
^
"BGR Group Enlists Retired General Lute" . January 27, 2021.
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