WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday confirmed Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute as deputy national security adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan, making him the president’s personal confidant on those overseas combat operations.
President Bush had nominated Lute to serve as his war czar in May. The Senate approved the choice by a 94-4 vote, with four Democrats voting against the nominee.
Earlier Thursday, Bush formally nominated Adm. Mike Mullen to serve as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Gen. James Cartwright to be his vice chairman.
Mullen, the current chief of naval operations, was tapped for the post earlier this month after Secretary of Defense Robert Gates decided not to renominate Gen. Peter Pace for the post.
Mullen, a 1968 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, has already served in a host of Navy, Joint Staff and Allied Forces leadership roles.
Cartwright will replace Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr., who announced his retirement earlier this month.
No time line has been set for hearings or a vote on those nominations.
