Adm. William J. Fallon
The Associated Press

Adm. William J. Fallon is resigning.

Featured Topic | Posted 25 weeks 4 days ago

Fallon resigns: Are dissenting views unwelcome at the White House?

The Navy admiral in charge of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan announced Tuesday that he is resigning over an Esquire article portraying him as opposed to President Bush's Iran policy. Adm. William J. Fallon, one of the most experienced officers in the U.S. Military, said the reports were wrong but had become a distraction hampering his efforts in the Middle East.

Democrats said the White House was stifling dissenting opinions. But Pentagon officials said there was no pressure on Fallon to resign.

Does the White House hear enough from officers and officials with dissenting views on policy?

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Ben likes: Blogospheric speculation

Wretchard/Belmont Club

It's more likely that Fallon is an indirect casualty of the Surge. The Admiral was appointed at a time when it was widely believed the US had been balked in Iraq and reflected the cautious mood of those days. But now the US has much more confidence in its regional position at a time when dangers have also been increasing. Therefore Fallon's departure may simply reflect that more aggressive position. But a more aggressive stance doesn't automatically equal a war against Iran.

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Joel likes: Big picture on Fallon

Josh Marshall/Talking Points Memo

By all accounts, the points of contention between Fallon and Bush administration officials centered on three points: 1) his belief that the indefinite occupation of Iraq is a disaster for the US military, 2) that diplomacy has a central role in American foreign and national security policy, 3) that war is not a credible policy for the US to pursue in dealing with Iran. The last of these was believed to be the key issue.

It is widely believed in media and political circles that despite the difficulties in Iraq and Afghanistan, American foreign policy is back under some kind of adult/mainstream management. In other words, that we've left the Cheney/Rumsfeld era behind for a period of Gates/Rice normalcy and that Iran regime change adventurism is safely off the table. But put together what the disagreements with Fallon were about, the fact that the president chose him as someone he thought he could work with not more than one year ago, and the almost unprecedented nature of the resignation and it becomes clear that that assumption must be gravely in error.

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Thoughts

PROOF ????

Submitted on March 13th, 2008 by Anonymous

Submitted by ceejaycam March 13, 2008

This is my opinion only..so how would I prove it? There is no way to prove it...until it happens. It is no secret that has been their plan all along. A plan to take over the middle east is not a big secret...it is part of the PNAC agreement and put into place by the neocons prior to Bush taking office...That is why they have tried repeatedly to implicate Iran, with the weapons being brought into Iraq...Bush is trying to rally all of Irans neighbors together against them. We have war ships sitting there with nukes ready to go...They are setting up missles bases in surrounding countries...I think it is safe to assume that they are getting prepared for it. They have to find a valid excuse to do it..or create something to justify an all out attack...Cheney and others (Lieberman for one)have said publicly...that we should nuke them. Iran is unfinished business...for this administration..Time will tell us..and they are running out of time..so if it is their plan, we can safely assume that it will happen before they leave office....

Unfounded assertions

Submitted on March 12th, 2008 by Ben

"It is no secret that Bush and Cheney want to attack Iran... I think we should all be prepared for an attack on Iran... I do not see Bush and Cheney leaving that unfinished..."

So you say. Prove it. It's no secret that Norman Podhoretz thinks the United States should attack Iran. But even the neo-con, warmonger Podhoretz doesn't think it will happen in the waning months of this administration. And there is nothing resembling consensus within the administration, as far as I can tell.

Fallons Resignation

Submitted on March 12th, 2008 by Anonymous

It is no secret that Bush and Cheney want to attack Iran and they are running out of time to do it. Fallon was very opposed to that idea and made the mistake of being too verbose on the topic. That sealed his "resignation"...I think we should all be prepared for an attack on Iran...I do not see Bush and Cheney leaving that unfinished..and quietly retiring to their respective hideaways..I am sure that we are in store for several surprises before they are ejected from the white house...

Look at the history of the Bush Jr. Whitehouse

Submitted on March 12th, 2008 by Anonymous

He's stonewalled or put to pasture almost every dissenter he's ever had working for him. You want to work for Bush, you better tow the line and not ask any questions.