Fallon Resigns Posted by Shawn Brimley

Admiral Fallon, the Combatant Commander of U.S. Central Command, has resigned today after his portrayal by Thomas Barnett in the current issue of Esquire.  The piece was titled "The Man Between War and Peace," and framed Fallon as basically the only person standing between the Bush administration and war with Iran. The piece ends with: "And time will tell whether being reasonable will cost Admiral William Fallon his command."  Well, we certainly didn't have to wait long.

More below the fold:

Quotes from the Washington Post story linked above:

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced today that the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, Adm. William J. "Fox" Fallon, is retiring at the end of the month because of perceptions that he is at odds with Bush administration policy on Iran.

Gates told a hastily arranged news conference at the Pentagon that these perceptions were false. But he said they have created an "embarrassing situation" and that the resulting "distraction" makes Fallon's decision to step down as commander of the U.S. Central Command "the right thing to do."

Gates said that contrary to a recent Esquire magazine article that described differences between Fallon and the White House, the admiral's departure does not mean that the United States is heading toward war with Iran.

"That's just ridiculous," Gates said.

In a statement, Fallon, a Vietnam War veteran with nearly 42 years of Navy service, said, "Recent press reports suggesting a disconnect between my views and the president's policy objectives have become a distraction at a critical time and hamper efforts in the CENTCOM region. And although I don't believe there have ever been any differences about the objectives of our policy in the Central Command Area of Responsibility, the simple perception that there is makes it difficult for me to effectively serve America's interests there."

He said he has "therefore concluded that it would be best to step aside and allow the secretary and our military leaders to move beyond this distraction."

Comments

[Don Bacon]

Admiral Fallon, a four-star officer, commanding one of the nation's major commands, didn't just resign because of a magazine article.

from Stratfor:
"Resignations at this level do not just happen. Despite some circumlocutions, Gates made little attempt to conceal the existence of standing disagreements between them. In all likelihood, Fallon really either resigned in protest of something or was forced out. (Gates was instrumental in forcing out U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace from his position as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2007.)

"Fallon was known to oppose Bush administration officials who favored an attack on Iran. Notably, the leadership of the combatant command that would oversee such an operation is now vacant. There will be no comfort in Tehran tonight over the resignation, whatever its real purpose."
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/u_s_fallon_resigns

In other words, if the differences bewteen Fallon and Bush were "just ridiculous" then why would he resign? Obviously they weren't "just ridiculous" after all.

Fallon has said that there would be no war on Iran on his watch. Unfortunately his watch has ended.