THE WAR CZAR. ABC News reports that the new "war czar" is Pentagon's director of operations, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute. His military rank tells even the uninformed that the search took a long time and that people with higher ranks refused the honor. Why would anybody refuse a title like "the czar"? Well, in a democracy one might feel uncomfortable about using the term for an autocrat to describe a post like this. Then there is the whole sad history of the last "misguided" czar of Russia to contemplate. But the main reason for the refusals is naturally the impossible job the appointed czar will face. Come to think of it, perhaps "czar" is the aptest word, after all, given that Russian history. -- J. Goodrich
