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Max Boot makes a good point and a not-so-good point about the resignation of Adm. William Fallon from his command in the Middle East.

The good point:

There is little doubt that senior officers should have ample opportunity to engage in debate and dissent–in private. The President and secretary of defense should hear a wide variety of views before making a decision. But it’s another matter altogether when senior officers go public with their disagreements, especially when disagreeing with policy decisions that have already been made by their civilian superiors. That is an untenable situation, and–as with George McClellan, Douglas MacArthur, and now Fox Fallon–there is no choice but for such general officers to resign.

Agreed. Our system makes the military subservient to elected civilians -- and properly so, because there's really no such thing as a military-run democracy.

This is true even when you think -- as I do -- that the military guy is right. I don't think going to war in Iran is a good idea, and Admiral Fallon didn't either. But it is not his job to publicly campaign (or appear to publicly campaign) against the wishes of his superiors.

That said, I think Boot gets this wrong, or at least incomplete:

A further distinction should be made. Military officers are experts in how to wage war, not when to wage it. Their advice is most needed when it comes to tactics and operations, not for building grand strategy. Bush and Rumsfeld would have been well advised to pay closer attention in 2003 to the misgivings of generals such as Eric Shinseki, who warned that a larger force would be required in Iraq. And today the administration should certainly listen to Fallon or other officers about which military options, if any, are viable in the event of war with Iran.

The problem here is that the when to wage war is dependent on the how, and so military commanders should be vocal -- internally -- if they think the two are in conflict. Attacking Iran might be part of the strategic vision of Bush and Cheney (it also might not be, to be fair), but adding Iran to an already overburdened military might just break it.

Commanders like Fallon should be vigorous in making their cases on these issues. But they should also do it in recognition that the elected officials are the final word. It's a tricky balance, but one that must be maintained.