A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days

I know that many a soul thinks and likes to think that the retirement of CENTCOM commander Admiral William Fallon from the Navy means that we are about to go to war with Iran but Fred Kaplan does a good job of pouring cold water all over that idea. And while there is a great deal of talk about how the firing just means that yet another Bush Administration critic was silenced, the fact is that if there was a firing, Fallon pretty much had it coming. Quoth Kaplan:

Last month, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that after the five "surge" brigades left Iraq this July, there would be a "pause" before any further withdrawals would commence. In a Feb. 27 interview with the New York Times, Fallon said this pause would be brief, just long enough to allow "all the dust to settle," after which the drawdown would resume. Moreover, he said, U.S. strategy would shift--focusing on "supporting, sustaining, advising, training, and mentoring" the Iraqi army, not so much on fighting or providing security ourselves.

In a Slate column the next day, I wondered if Fallon was speaking on behalf of Gates, the administration, or anybody besides himself. I have since learned, from a senior Pentagon official and from a high-ranking Army officer, that he was not. I have also learned that many of Fallon's statements on policy matters have been similarly unauthorized.

Max Boot puts the . . . er . . . boot in. I'd excerpt, but you should really read the whole thing. Of course, whether or not you believe that Fallon's retirement was purely voluntary, it should be noted anew that this story is the one that really got the ball rolling. It is utterly fawning when it comes to its coverage of Fallon and Fallon aids the cause by making statements that positively reeked of insubordination. Oh, and note the shot in the story that Tom Barnett took at General Petraeus. It was totally gratuitous and it only served to embarrass Barnett given the facts concerning the surge. It embarrassed Fallon as well, since he was always skeptical of the surge. Here's hoping that the next CENTCOM commander decides to work with General Petraeus rather than serve as the inspiration for stories about how CENTCOM is at odds with the commander of the Multinational Force in Iraq.

I appreciate Fallon's service to the country. He served for over four decades, an awesome achievement. For that, he deserves accolades and kudos. But there is a reason why control of the military is left in the hands of the civilians and Fallon failed to grasp that in many of his interactions with the press. By failing to grasp the success of the surge as well, Fallon unfortunately may have greased his own skids. He should have supported a winning strategy instead of spending time and energy trashing it either passively or actively.