[walden]

Of course the story is way off. The Marines are serious professionals, and relieving a commander like this is a serious deal. No one who knows anything is going to say anything, and the grunts are going to be positive and non-commital.

But, the commander who relieved this guy did so for serious reasons, I have no doubt. Probably based on a myriad of details reported by this guy of decisions made, actions taken and not taken, that led him to conclude that relieving him was the right thing to do. Second-guessing this kind of a decision is just stupid.

[ArneFufkin]

I think the operational timetable has taken on an especially important priority given the role Special Ops and CIA agents are going to play in the Baghdad end game strategy. They can't wait a day, they can't wait an hour some times. We're fighting differently now, we have less chess pieces on the board, and every single one has a critical mission to complete, and then must move, secure positions and fight in agile ways to the next mission objective. And so it goes. Not every field commander has the temperament for that kind of derring do warfare. It's scary and challenging. In many ways, this is field testing a new paradigm of 21st century terrorist/guerilla warfare. President Bush, Rumsfeld, Franks and Myers have balls the size of canned hams - but their boldness is based on meticulous planning and review. There will be no more ass kissing Generals in the Pentagon while Bush is CIC. From several accounts I read, he was immediately turned off by guys like Shelton and Shinseki. Yep. Tommy Franks, Peter Pace, Dick Myers ... these guys aren't male models, their military men.