Fallon Resigns As Mideast Military Chief

[BMT (RIP)]

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8VBDUF01&show_article=1


BMT

[The Reaper]

Saw that.

Looks like the Navy leadership is willing to step down when they have a disagreement with the civilian leadership. Kudos for that.

Maybe they should put an Army general in charge of a theater with a ground war.

Be a good slot for GEN Petraeus.

TR

[Ret10Echo]

Short segment on this on the Newshour this evening.

Comments were:

1. Sec Gates didn't have to accept it, but he did. (indication of dissatisfaction?)

2. The replacement should be an Army officer because of the nature of the fight.

Didn't catch the beginning of the segment so I am unsure of the individual providing comment.

[Ret10Echo]

From the BBC

Pentagon denies Iran policy shift

The resignation of the commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan does not signal a policy change on Iran, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates says.
Admiral William Fallon said on Tuesday he was stepping down because of public perceptions of a rift with Mr Bush.

A recent article said Adm Fallon opposed military strikes against Iran.

The Pentagon also denied claims by leading Democrats that the resignation was a sign of White House attempts to stifle dissent.

The affair centres on an article in the April edition of Esquire magazine which described the admiral as "the strongest man standing between the Bush administration and a war with Iran".

But Mr Gates said there were no significant differences between the views of Adm Fallon and the Bush administration's policy on Iran.


He said the idea, suggested in the article, that Adm Fallon's departure would indicate that the US was planning to go to war with Iran was "ridiculous".
Adm Fallon said he did not believe there had "ever been any differences about the objectives of our policy", and was quoted by the Washington Post as describing the article as "poison-pen stuff".

But Esquire's editor-in-chief, David Granger, said the magazine stood "four-square behind the story".

He said Adm Fallon's resignation and its aftermath bore out the magazine's "reporting on the critical issue of tensions between US Central Command and the White House over Iran policy".

'Perception problem

Leading Democrats expressed fears of attempts by the White House to quash dissent.


I don't believe there have ever been any differences about the objectives of our policy in the Central Command
Adm William Fallon

"I am concerned that the resignation of Admiral William J Fallon... is yet another example that independence and the frank, open airing of experts' views are not welcomed in this administration," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said.
But defence department press secretary Geoff Morrell said "people should not misconstrue this as the price to be paid for speaking out within the Pentagon".

He said the issue had been "a perception problem that dogged Admiral Fallon - this perception that he was in a different place than the president and the administration when it came to Iran".

Discord

Adm Fallon became head of the US Central Command - which covers an area from the Horn of Africa into central Asia and includes responsibility for US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan - a year ago.

The admiral released a statement through Central Command's Florida headquarters on Tuesday.

He cited the "embarrassing situation and public perception of differences between my views and administration policy" as his reason for retiring.

"I don't think that there really were differences at all," said Mr Gates, referring to the perceived schism between Adm Fallon and the Bush administration over Iran policy.

Responding to the resignation, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton urged the Bush administration to pursue diplomacy with Tehran instead of conflict.

The New York senator described the admiral as a "voice of reason in an administration which has used inflammatory rhetoric against Iran".

President George W Bush said Adm Fallon deserved "considerable credit for progress that has been made... in Iraq and Afghanistan".

But Adm Fallon's resignation is richly suggestive of discord at the top between the military and the White House, says the BBC's Adam Brookes in Washington.

Adm Fallon's comments - that included telling Arabic TV station al-Jazeera last year that "I expect there will be no war (with Iran)" - incurred the wrath of the Bush administration, says our correspondent.

Observers say the resignation comes at a time when the US administration seems to be struggling on a number of fronts to maintain the international pressure on Iran, not least with the recent US National Intelligence Estimate that suggested Iran had had a nuclear weapons programme but halted it in 2003.

The Bush administration's official policy towards Iran is to use diplomatic and economic pressures to resolve differences while retaining the possibility of military options.

The US and other Western nations suspect Iran is using its nuclear programme to develop atomic weapons - a charge Tehran denies.

[x-factor]

Just for reference...here's all the tenures of all previous CENTCOM Commanders.

GEN Robert C. Kingston, USA----------January 1, 1983 to November 27, 1985
Gen George B. Crist, USMC----------November 27, 1985 to November 23, 1988
GEN H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA----------November 23, 1988 to August 9, 1991
Gen Joseph P. Hoar, USMC----------August 9, 1991 to August 5, 1994
GEN J. H. Binford Peay III, USA----------August 5, 1994 to August 13, 1997
Gen Anthony C. Zinni, USMC----------August 13, 1997 to July 6, 2000
GEN Tommy R. Franks, USA----------July 6, 2000 to July 7, 2003
GEN John P. Abizaid, USA----------July 7, 2003 to March 16, 2007
ADM William J. Fallon, USN----------March 16, 2007 to March 31, 2008
LTG Martin Dempsey, USA----------March 31, 2008 to ACTING

Whether they will or won't move Petraeus up is an interesting question. I'd be hesitant to mess with a good thing if it were my call.

Its interesting that they've never had an USAF general as commander. I could see them appointing one if they wanted to send Iran a message. Not saying it would be a smart move, but I could see them doing it.

Another article names: Petraeus, Dempsey, Chiarelli, and McChrystal as possible replacements.

[Ret10Echo]

Its interesting that they've never had an USAF general as commander. I could see them appointing one if they wanted to send Iran a message. Not saying it would be a smart move, but I could see them doing it.

Interesting take.

Seems that with the current COIN operations that having someone familiar with the ground game would be of a greater benefit, but that would have been my perception right up to the Admiral's appointment. (looking at past history).

Timing is not that great for the political creatures at the flag-level. Election year turmoil leaves a lot of positions vacant or "acting".

[The Reaper]

Its interesting that they've never had an USAF general as commander. I could see them appointing one if they wanted to send Iran a message. Not saying it would be a smart move, but I could see them doing it.

Another article names: Petraeus, Dempsey, Chiarelli, and McChrystal as possible replacements.

This has traditionally been an Army-USMC rotating command.

What part of his career prepares an AF general officer to take over a geographic command and fight a ground COIN campaign?

I do not see an Army GO getting STRATCOM, TRANSCOM, or SPACECOM.

There are probably good reasons for that.

I believe that McChrystal would have to be promoted to take the job.

TR

[x-factor]

This has traditionally been an Army-USMC rotating command.

What part of his career prepares an AF general officer to take over a geographic command and fight a ground COIN campaign?

I do not see an Army GO getting STRATCOM, TRANSCOM, or SPACECOM.

There are probably good reasons for that.


The logic behind appointing Fallon was that the theater commanders run the wars directly for the President and the CENTCOM Commander job is more about the Iran contingency and regional relations. If the administration still believes in that model, then qualifications for the ground fight might not be first on their list.

I agree with you completely, don't get me wrong. I'm just saying, I could see it happening (given some of the previous decisions/behavoirs of the administration) if their priority is to really put the squeeze on Iran before they leave office in Jan 2009.

[The Reaper]

I think this is a pretty good analysis.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-boot12mar12,0,5337128.story

TR

[SF18C]

I think this is a pretty good analysis.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-boot12mar12,0,5337128.story

TR

Wow, how did that get in the L.A. Times? Plus I am not sure I believe all the Bush wants to bomb Iran stuff. I think this is more of the media saying it and six months from now it will become "a fact that Bush stated" he wanted to bomb Iran.

Also, I wonder if Fallon "retired" at this time so he could be ready for the Dem V.P. spot?

[Richard]

"Another article names: Petraeus, Dempsey, Chiarelli, and McChrystal as possible replacements."

I knew Stan McChrystal in the 7th SFG. He "punched" that ticket and then went on to spend most of his time in the Ranger REgiment--including the 75th Inf Rgt (Ranger) CDR--and then as JSOC CDR. Stan was a fair haired fast riser...until he got into trouble over the Tillman probe. Now one has to wonder whether or not he'll ever make GEN and about his viability to be appointed the new CENTCOM CDR. Interesting that his name popped up on this short list.

Richard :munchin

[CoLawman]

[QUOTE=SF18C;202572]Wow, how did that get in the L.A. Times?

The author, Max Boot's bio:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Max Boot is a Senior Fellow in National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He is also a weekly foreign-affairs columnist for the Los Angeles Times, a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard, and a regular contributor to The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, and many other publications. In 2004, he was named by the World Affairs Councils of America one of "the 500 most influential people in the United States in the field of foreign policy."

His new book is War Made New: Technology, Warfare, and the Course of History, 1500 to Today (Gotham Books). (See www.cfr.org/WarMadeNew.) His previous book, The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power (Basic Books) was selected as one of the best books of 2002 by The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and The Christian Science Monitor. It also won the 2003 General Wallace M. Greene Jr. Award, given annually by the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation for the best nonfiction book pertaining to Marine Corps history, and it has been placed on professional reading lists by the Navy, Army, and Marine Corps.

Boot is a frequent public speaker and guest on radio and television news programs, both at home and abroad. He has lectured at many military institutions, including the Army and Navy War Colleges, the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School, the Army Command and General Staff College, West Point, and the Naval Academy. He is a member of the U.S. Joint Forces Command Transformation Advisory Group and a Corporation for Public Broadcasting advisory board. Before joining the Council in October 2002, Boot spent eight years as a writer and editor at The Wall Street Journal, the last five years as editorial features editor. From 1992 to 1994 he was an editor and writer at The Christian Science Monitor.

Boot holds a bachelor's degree in history, with high honors, from the University of California, Berkeley (1991), and a master's degree in history from Yale University (1992). He grew up in Los Angeles and now lives with his family in the New York area.

[The Reaper]

Washington Times
March 13, 2008
Pg. 3

Warriors Welcome Resignation

Fallon accused of failing to protect troops

By Sara Carter, The Washington Times

Current and former military officials welcomed the resignation of Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, saying he failed to prevent foreign fighters and munitions from entering Iraq.

They said "there was no misperception" regarding Adm. Fallon's "non-warrior" approach to handling foreign involvement in the region.

"The fact is that [Central Command] had the external responsibility to protect our troops in Iraq from the outside and under Fallon they failed to do it," said retired Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely, a military analyst. "We have done nothing to protect our soldiers from external threats in Iraq."

Others said Adm. Fallon was pushed to resign.

"No matter what [Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates] said [Tuesday], we know for a fact Admiral Fallon was fired," said a former senior Defense official who works closely with military officials in the region. "We have kids — soldiers — getting killed because Iran, Syria and other foreign fighters are coming across the border into Iraq, and yet Fallon was unwilling to do anything to hold [those nations] accountable."

Adm. Fallon announced his retirement Tuesday, saying he had no substantial disagreements with the White House on the Middle East but that the "disconnect between my views and the president's policy objectives" had become a distraction.

Mr. Gates, who accepted the admiral's resignation, said it was a "misperception" that the commander was at odds with White House policies on Iran.

"I don't believe there have ever been any differences about the objectives of our policy in the Central Command area of responsibility," Adm. Fallon said, and he regretted "the simple perception that there is."

Adm. Fallon, who was in Iraq yesterday, could not be reached for comment.

Speculation that the Bush administration planned to wage war with Iran was based in part on an article published in Esquire last week that described Adm. Fallon as the lone voice against the administration's hard-line policies.

The senior military official said Adm. Fallon's interview with Esquire "showed his lack of reason when it came to Iran's influence in the region."

A military official close to Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Gen. Petraeus and Adm. Fallon had developed a friendship over the past six months despite their different perspectives on the war.

"They had just finished a monthlong process where they completed a shared recommendation for the future of Iraq," said the official, adding that the recommendation is the report Gen. Petraeus will deliver to Congress next month.

Gen. Petraeus said yesterday that he will miss the admiral. "Over the past year, he and I worked closely together as we charted a new course in Iraq and, more recently, developed a shared view on recommendations for the future," he said in a statement.

"Admiral Fallon has been a true warrior and we will miss him," he said.

Other military officials said Adm. Fallon's public and private disagreements with senior military and White House officials were genuine.

The disagreements made it difficult for Gen. Petraeus to do "what he needed to do to protect coalition forces and civilians" from attacks by foreign fighters, as Adm. Fallon was looking to reach out with diplomatic rather than military solutions, said another military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A Pentagon report, "Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq," released Tuesday, emphasized that as much as 90 percent of the foreign fighters in Iraq cross the border from Syria and that Iran's support for Shi'ite militants is hurting efforts to improve security in Iraq.

The Defense Department's quarterly report — from December to February — said militants continue to find safe havens and logistical support in Syria. It also states that Tehran's support for Shi'ite militant groups remains a sizable threat to stability in Iraq. The Quds Force, the elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, still provides much of the munitions for militants inside the country, the report said.

Military intelligence officials said many of these foreign fighters are finding sanctuary along Iran's border region as well.

[onegin]

His resignation may be related with Turkey's sudden operation in northern Iraq.