Posted on 03/11/2008 12:23:59 PM PDT by gondramB
Rumor is Admiral William Fallon will retire suddenly
No link yet
No offense, but I'm having a hard time believing that generals would betray their oath over internecine bickering.
kind of expected
So, what are you going to do if Iran decides it wants to have a war with YOU?!
Think we should merrily let Iran and by extention Russia, bang their war drums at us while we remain silent or appease them?
I hope you’re right. Maybe Condi was able to break way from piano practice long enough to go to her medicine cabinet and get his shriveled orbs from hiatus.
This just in from the Pentagon:
http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4172
SEC. GATES: “Good afternoon.
Admiral William Fallon is, at this moment, issuing a statement announcing that he has asked my approval to step down, from his current duties as commander of U.S. Central Command, and retire. Admiral Fallon advised me of his decision early this morning. He told me that, quote, “The current embarrassing situation, public perception of differences between my views and administration policy, and the distraction this causes from the mission make this the rigbt thing to do,” unquote.
I have approved Admiral Fallon’s request, to retire, with reluctance and regret. Effective March 31st, Lieutenant General Martin Dempsey, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, will serve as acting commander. He will serve in that capacity until such time as permanent relief can be nominated and confirmed...”
I guess getting your 15 minutes is tempting for anyone.
If this is the reason for the Esquire Magazine article Adm. Fallon's activities in the next year will demonstrate it.
I guess Fallon got the Gong
It still blows my mind that anyone with a military background, even a general or an admiral, can ever associate with the Rat party.
oww....
:)
its not news that there was bad blood bwtn Fallon and GWB, so in that sense his resignation could have come a long time ago. but i think this would classify as “suddenly”
"Fallon also expressed great scepticism about the basic assumption underlying the surge strategy, which was that it could pave the way for political reconciliation in Iraq. In the lead story Sep. 9, The Washington Post quoted a "senior administration official" as saying that Fallon had been "saying from Day One, 'This isn't working.' "
One of Fallon's first moves upon taking command of CENTCOM was to order his subordinates to avoid the term "long war" -- a phrase Bush and Secretary of Defence Robert M. Gates had used to describe the fight against terrorism.
Fallon was signaling his unhappiness with the policy of U.S. occupation of Iraq for an indeterminate period. Military sources explained that Fallon was concerned that the concept of a long war would alienate Middle East publics by suggesting that U.S. troops would remain in the region indefinitely.
During the summer, according to the Post Sep. 9 report, Fallon began to develop his own plans for redefine the U.S. mission in Iraq, including a plan for withdrawal of three-quarters of the U.S. troop strength by the end of 2009.
The conflict between Fallon and Petraeus over Iraq came to a head in early September. According to the Post story, Fallon expressed views on Iraq that were sharply at odds with those of Petraeus in a three-way conversation with Bush on Iraq the previous weekend. Petraeus argued for keeping as many troops in Iraq for as long as possible to cement any security progress, but Fallon argued that a strategic withdrawal from Iraq was necessary to have sufficient forces to deal with other potential threats in the region. "
Fallon is, was and always will be a piece of crap. He is among the worst flag rank officers in the modern history of the US military. When he was Cdr of the Pacific Fleet, he was a total Panda Hugger. He never should have gotten CENTCOM for two reasons:
1. He is a lousy officer.
2. CENTCOM is the theater with the two largest ground operations in the entire US military and putting a Navy Admiral in charge was stuck on stupid to begin with. Fallon was in over his head from the start.
“The army brass has been livid about having to report to an admiral.”
I don’t have any inside information on this one, but your claim appears more preposterous than those in the article you’re commenting on. Tensions will of course exist when reporting to another service branch, but claiming that “
the army’s brass” in general are “livid” with Fallon just because he’s Navy implies a degree of unprofessionalism that’s inconsistent with the officer corps that I’ve known.
LOL! I was thinking the same thing.
Fallon - the McClellan of the 21st century.
It's one thing for staff officers to oppose a plan it's all different ballgame should they choose to do so publicly.
Fallon was wrong on the surge. He actually wanted to withdrawl troops out of Iraq. he wanted a more “conciliatory” response to China when he was the Commander there.
What else needs to be said about the guy? ...oh, and he said there would be no war in Iran on his watch. Who does he think he is? 10 donuts says he’s a Pentagon style brass liberal who will now write a book and volunteer to be Obama’s Sec of Defense.
Think about it, please. "Iran" and ""calming" in the same sentence. Forget the "war" part, because we've never militarily been anywhere near that. Are any of you REALLY going to find a way to blame Bush for THIS?
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