[Marxism] Naval commander Fallon, critic of administration policy, steps down. Sing of war with Iran? Doubt it.

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Fallon has been watched carefully for some time because of his opposition to
the Bush team's clear desire to relaunch an effective and rapid war drive
against Iran. But I question whether his resignation should be viewed as a
sign of imminent war against Iran, rather than a vindictive move against
someone who participated in blocking it -- and for now it seems blocked. I
think Gates' comment that it is "ridiculous" to think that Fallon's
resignation means war with Iran should be taken seriously.

I will follow this up with an excellent article from Counterpunch on the
Fallon world view and what it says about US imperialism today.

We should keep in mind that Fallon has hot prospects as an author, speaker
on the foreign ajnd military policy circuits, academic and contributing
"fellow" and so on. Not to mention possibilities in future Clinton or Obama
administrations

The introduction below, provided by Professor Mark Jensen of the SNOW-news
list based in Washington state, is a good revidw by an excellent analyst of
the coverage of this development, including several items not included here.
Fred Feldman.


NEWS: Adm. Fallon resigns as CENTCOM commander after 'Esquire' piece 

Adm. William Fallon has abruptly resigned his command as head of CENTCOM and
will retire at the end of the month.  --  The Financial Times of London said
the resignation came "following the publication of a controversial magazine
article . . . in Esquire . . . suggest[ing] that Adm. Fallon was pursuing a
different policy on Iran than President George W. Bush."[1]  --  

"One military official insisted that Adm. Fallon was not asked to resign,"
Demetri Sevastopulo wrote.  --  "But he added that neither Mr. Gates nor
Adm. Mullen asked him to reconsider his decision." --  
The Israeli intelligence web site Debka cited "military sources" asserting
that "Adm. Fallon was at loggerheads with the president and Gates over many
of the U.S. Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus' evaluations of the military
situation in Iraq, which they backed.  He considered Petraeus had overstated
American military successes in the Iraq war and warned the si
tuation there was volatile and could change rapidly."[2]  --  

Debka noted that "In an interview last week with the Washington Post, Fallon
dismissed the Esquire article as 'poison pen stuff' and 'really
disrespectful and ugly.'"  --  The Washington Post said that U.S. Defense
Secretary Robert Gates called "just ridiculous" the notion that Adm.
Fallon's resignation means "that the United States is heading toward war
with Iran."[3]  --  

The full text of the curious Esquire article by Thomas H.P. Barnett, in
which the author comes off as both reverent and impertinent at the same
time, is posted below.[4]  -- Barnett quotes abundantly from one-on-one
interviews with Adm. Fallon, writing that "he might not get away with [so
brazenly challenging his commander in chief] for much longer.  President
Bush is not accustomed to a subordinate who speaks his mind as freely as
Fallon does, and the president may have had enough. . . . [

W]ell-placed observers now say that it will come as no surprise if Fallon is
relieved of his command before his time is up next spring, maybe as early as
this summer, in favor of a commander the White House considers to be more
pliable.  If that were to happen, it may well mean that the president and
vice-president intend to take military action against Iran before the end of
this year and don't want a commander standing in their way."  --Mark
[Jensen]

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/7251/ 

1. 

U.S. ADMIRAL IN CHARGE OF IRAQ WAR RESIGNS By Demetri Sevastopulo 

Financial Times (London) March 11, 2008 

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/63d510aa-efa2-11dc-8a17-0000779fd2ac.html 

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Nebraska -- U.S. Admiral William Fallon, the top U.S.
military commander in the Middle East, resigned abruptly on Tuesday
following the publication of a controversial magazine article that appeared
to pit him against the president. 


The article in *Esquire* magazine suggested that Adm Fallon was pursuing a
different policy on Iran than President George W. Bush.  Mr. Fallon also
generated controversy with a November interview with the *Financial Times*
in which he suggested that belligerent rhetoric from the Bush administration
over Iran was "unhelpful." 

A string of tough rhetoric from the Bush administration, including the
president, raised concerns last year that the U.S. was gearing up for a
strike on Iran.  Some senior military officers were concerned that the
rhetoric could provoke Tehran into taking some action that would require a
U.S. military response. 

In the *FT* interview, Adm. Fallon declined to comment specifically on
whether the administration's rhetoric was feeding speculation about war, but
he replied that, "generally, the bellicose comments are not particularly
helpful." 

"Recent press reports press reports suggesting a disconnect between my views
and the president's policy objectives have become a distraction at a
critical time and hamper efforts in the CENTCOM region," Adm. Fallon said in
a statement after arriving in Baghdad on Tuesday. 

"Although I don't believe there have ever been any differences about the
objectives of our policy in the Central Command area of responsibility, the
simple perception that there is makes it difficult for me to effectively
serve America's interests there." 

Robert Gates, U.S. defense secretary, said he accepted Adm. Fallon's request
to retire "with reluctance and regret."  Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman
of the joint chiefs, said he "respected the reasons for which Admiral Fallon
admitted it and applauded his ability to recognize the responsibly before
him."  The Pentagon has appointed Lieutenant General Martin Dempsey to act
as interim Centcom chief. 

Adm. Fallon replaced General John Abizaid in January last year as head of
Central Command, which oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  His
resignation comes just weeks before U.S. commanders including General David
Petraeus -- the top U.S. commander in Iraq with whom Adm. Fallon had a poor
relationship -- present their next recommendations on Iraq to Mr. Bush. 

A former navy pilot who flew missions during Vietnam, Adm. Fallon served as
head of Pacific Command, another high-profile position that gave him
responsibility from Hawaii to Australia.  In that role, Adm. Fallon was
widely credited with improving military relations with China, but his
efforts were criticized by some China hawks in Washington. 

Mr. Bush thanked Adm. Fallon for his "outstanding" service in a statement.
But in a strong signal that Mr. Bush was displeased with Adm. Fallon, he
offered no sense of regret at the decision. 

One military official insisted that Adm. Fallon was not asked to resign. But
he added that neither Mr. Gates nor Adm. Mullen asked him to reconsider his
decision. 



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