The "smart" admiral didn't understand this? It's a "Duh" to this former Cpl E-4.
Posted on 03/12/2008 5:08:59 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
To see why Tuesday's "retirement" of Navy Adm. William "Fox" Fallon as head of U.S. Central Command is good news, all you have to do is look at the Esquire profile that brought about his downfall.
Its author, Thomas P.M. Barnett, a former professor at the Naval War College, presents a fawning portrait of the admiral -- a service he previously performed for Donald Rumsfeld. But evidence of Fallon's supposed "strategic brilliance" is notably lacking. For example, Barnett notes Fallon's attempt to banish the phrase "the Long War" (created by his predecessor) because it "signaled a long haul that Fallon simply finds unacceptable," without offering any hint of how Fallon intends to defeat our enemies overnight. The ideas Fallon proposes -- "He wants troop levels in Iraq down now, and he wants the Afghan National Army running the show throughout most of Afghanistan by the end of this year" -- would most likely result in security setbacks that would lengthen, not shorten, the struggle.
The picture that emerges of the admiral -- "The Man Between War and Peace," as the overwrought headline has it -- is not as flattering as intended. "He's standing up to the commander in chief, whom he thinks is contemplating a strategically unsound war [with Iran]," Barnett writes. And:"While Admiral Fallon's boss, President George W. Bush, regularly trash-talks his way to World War III ... it's left to Fallon -- and apparently Fallon alone -- to argue that, as he told Al Jazeera last fall: 'This constant drumbeat of conflict ... is not helpful and not useful. I expect that there will be no war, and that is what we ought to be working for. We ought to try to do our utmost to create different conditions.' "
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Just read this in the St. Pete Times, he’s planning on cutting CentCom staff by 1/3, sort of weird timing I think.
http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2008/03/as-fallon-retir.html
Uhh...as he told al-jazeera? Am I the first to say WTF?
It is definitely Max Boot, a cheerleader for American empirical aspirations.
Fallon was removed so that there wouldn't be a voice contradicting the cries to attack Iran. Expect conflict before November.
Fallon was removed so that there wouldn't be a voice contradicting the cries to attack Iran. Expect conflict before November."
So you feel it is safe to believe Iran's assurances that their nuclear program is for "peaceful purposes" only and does not entail weaponization?
Now, Fallon will be free to grovel before Clinton and Obama as a potential VP pick.
>> a cheerleader for American empirical aspirations
Uh, “empirical aspirations” is nonsense.
did you mean “imperial aspirations”?
That’s nonsense too.
>> Now, Fallon will be free to grovel before Clinton and Obama as a potential VP pick.
& while he’s waiting for them to sort out the nomination, the turd can get busy writing his Bush-bashing book...
It seems to me Fallon is a Rat lapdog.
yes, thanks
Nope, but this administration's credibility isn't flawless either.
During the build-up to the war Boot was quite the nation-building advocate, writing that America should be running the world in jodhpurs and pith helmets, an allusion to the British empire. I haven’t seen anything by him in a number of years. Maybe his reappearance is a sign of things to come too.
In re: Iraq? Is that what you are alluding to?
Fallon was removed due to his public statements against the war, not his obvious feelings.
For a Naval Officer whose expertise is boats, he has no business criticizing the successful decisions of a land commander such as Petraeus.........
Jimmy Carter was a Naval officer too........
According to Barnett’s article, Fallon would have gone to West Point but his local Congressman botched the recommendation, so he wound up going to a college with a Navy ROTC program.
Imagine FDR appointing an Admiral to provide a check on George S Patton LOL.
The "smart" admiral didn't understand this? It's a "Duh" to this former Cpl E-4.
Unfortunately it's our burden.
It does sort of leap off the page and poke you in the eyes, three stooges style.
Whaaa??? Petraeus has not exactly been a go along to get along tell them all what they want to hear kind of guy.
Hee hee, if Obama is elected at least it won't be the "white man's burden."
Of course.
I think, instead of Boot's suggestion that Fallon's dismissal was made so that Bush could keep pressure on Iran, it was made so that there wouldn't be an oppositional voice ( or actor ) to an operation already in the works. They are going in, and part of the reason will be to assure McCain's election. There are many reasons to justify an attack, but WMD's won't be the one used. IMHO.
Hardly .. ;)
What are you doing on FR ?
Fallon is gone because he behaved
in a manner unbecoming an officer:
talking like the CINC. What a fool.
Boggles the mind.
~~PING!
I note this surprising news from
another source:
CentCom Has Been Cutting Staff Under Fallon
http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2008/03/as-fallon-retir.html
If these cuts were on the Admiral’s own to weaken our forces re any Iranian attack, he might be elgible for a court martial.
Sure doesn’t sound kosher to me.
Sounds like he was instituting cuts that Pelosi, Reid and Murtha wanted, not President Bush, the real CIC.
Actually, as CentCom commander it is absolutely his business to oversee Petreus. Also, Fallon was a naval aviator, so boats might not have been his expertise. Fallon was among the last Viet Nam veteran to retire.
Bingo
Probably. Very political Admiral. Very stupid ideas.
Why are you here, lordbridey?
We have kittens here that take care of the light work.
CNN, Fox, MSNBS, et al, aren’t exactly popular over here. To reach the “average Arab person” they all talk to Al Jazeera when they can.
It seems like every damned member of the government talks about peace. Prays for peace. Plans for peace. Now we have an Admiral doing it. I want our Military planning for WAR. Thinking about WAR. Eating, sleeping and drinking WAR. Namely, how to win WARS. In the most voilent and decisive way possible. Is that too much to ask?
No
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