OK, now we have some clarity about what exactly Steve Hadley, the national security adviser, will do on Iraq and Afghanistan once Lieutenant General Doug Lute becomes war czar: Nothing.

Many have wondered whether Lute's prospective position as war czar effectively overlaps with Hadley's portfolio. While it's not a position with any real history behind it, the war czar is supposed to facilitate interagency coordination and policy review on Iraq and Afghanistan, which is, at least on paper, the job of the national security adviser. But, apparently, not anymore. In his confirmation hearing, Lute dropped a bombshell: Hadley will no longer have any formal role on the wars.

There isn't any precedent for a national security adviser during wartime to leave the war out of his or her responsibilities. There's also reason to believe that Hadley will have more than just Iraq and Afghanistan taken off his plate. Responding to questions from Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), Lute emphasized keeping the wars in "regional perspective," weighing in on events in Turkey and Pakistan (the latter will be "very high on my priority list," Lute said) that influence the wars. Lute's understanding of his duties are understandably expansive: "I would advise the president of the United States on execution and policy development matters," he told Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA). Even though Lute described his position as "limited," it still raises a big question about what Hadley will do on the Middle East and South Asia for the last year and a half of the Bush administration.

Sen. Jack Reed called for Hadley to be fired.

Update: Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) insisted that Hadley isn't diminished at all. He just needs help on these matters -- otherwise he'd never get anything done.

Pressed by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Lieutenant General Doug Lute turned a question on his areas of dissent on Iraq into a riff on his "personal lessons" from the war. Of particular significance: There is "no purely military" solution in Iraq, Lute said, nor is there an "American-only" solution.

Lieutenant General Doug Lute is before the Senate Armed Services Committee right now to become the president's "war czar," coordinating interagency efforts to support the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Lute, famously, dissented from the surge. But in his written statement addressing the committee's advance policy questions he gives a rather diplomatic answer about the surge's progress (pdf).

I participated in the policy review prior to the President's decision to adjust course in January 2007. During the review I registered concerns that a military "surge" would likely have only temporary and localized effects unless it were accompanied by counterpart "surges" by the Iraqi Government and other, non-military, agencies of the US Government. I also noted that our enemies in Iraq have, in effect, "a vote" and should be expected to take specific steps to counter our efforts. The new policy took such concerns into account. It is too soon to tell the outcome.