If there are two words that will serve as the epitaph for not just the Iraq war that has ruined the reputation and economy of the nation, but also for the administration that set those events into motion, those words are "war czar."

Yes, that's right, everyone's favorite "decider" has evidently decided he's done making decisions when it comes to Iraq and Afghanistan.

In President Bush's place, he has created a new post that would oversee all major decisions dealing with the war. One that can cut through the bureaucracy and deliver results.

A war czar.

It's kinda like a "commander in chief," but, you know, less legitimate. With no real power. Or authority. But, hey, the new czar will make for an excellent scapegoat when the time comes to hang the blame for our epic failure.

The creation of this post is little more than the administration's death rattle. They can see the handwriting on the wall. The war is over. We've lost. Badly. This post is proof the administration is finally acknowledging the fact that it is in way over its head, and it has no idea how to clean up the mess it has created.

To give the situation some perspective, the last "war" the United States waged that needed a "czar" was the war on drugs. Three decades, billions of dollars and a still-thriving drug market later — we've all seen how well that one worked out.

This war shouldn't need a "czar."

The Bush administration has shirked responsibility for the war from the beginning, and it's shirking it again now. Designating a war czar serves only to add another layer of protection between a public that wants answers and results, and an administration unwilling to furnish either.

But the biggest question raised by the creation — bigger than, "Isn't there already an elected position that should be responsible for this?" — is why it took so long for them to create this post in the first place.

Did it really take them five years (in Afghanistan, four in Iraq), nearly 3,300 dead soldiers and billions upon billions of taxpayers' dollars to figure out there was a problem on the executive level that needed to be fixed?

Did it take them that long to figure out an entirely new post had to be created to counteract the difficulties that planning and managing the war created?

The responsibilities of the "war czar" reads like a laundry list of things the administration wishes it could have done, but didn't because of to incompetence and grievous mismanagement: Be responsive to military and civilian needs in a timely fashion, work closely with all intelligence agencies serving as a contact point for all of them and, perhaps, most importantly, have the power to tell those in the Cabinet what to do.

These are measures that should have already been in place. When planning the invasion of a foreign nation, making sure you've got everything together domestically first is not only imperative, but essential.

The only bright side that can be found for the administration's creation of a "war czar" is that this might, finally, be the administration admitting defeat.

Even Bush — usually so idiotically self-assured and full of the confidence of someone who doesn't fully grasp what's going on around him — is starting to look haggard and overwhelmed.

It may finally be setting in that this war will go down in history as one of the most destructive acts the United States has ever engaged in — and certainly the most mishandled.

Maybe it's a sign that Bush, as one of his final acts as president, will start to pull our troops out of Iraq, on the advice of his new war czar.

But then again, maybe not.

Maybe this war czar is just a PR stopgap between now and when his successor takes office, temporarily taking the heat for this debacle before the whole thing can be pinned on his (no doubt) Democratic successor.

If that's the case, thank God no less than three four-star generals already have turned down the position, with few military or even civilian personnel looking to take on the thankless task of bearing the brunt of public outcry.

Hopefully, Bush won't be able to fill the position at all. If that happens, all the blame for this war can rest precisely where it should: On his shoulders.

Pete Nichols is the State News opinion writer. Reach him at nicho261@msu.edu.