Cent Com Chief Admiral Fallon resigns: Robert Gates Presser
By John Amato Monday Mar 10, 2008 4:55pm
You knew it was coming. We thought he'd be fired at C&L, but Fallon resigned instead. Robert Gates took the stage and was battered with questions today as he announced the departure of Chief Admiral Fallon, who asked out of the administration:
The top U.S. military commander for the Middle East resigned Tuesday amid speculation about a rift over U.S. policy in Iran. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that Adm. William J. Fallon had asked for permission to retire and that Gates agreed. Gates said the decision, effective March 31, was entirely Fallon's and that Gates believed it was "the right thing to do."
As you may recall Fallon was openly against starting a war with Iran.
Admiral William Fallon, then President George W. Bush's nominee to head the Central Command (CENTCOM), expressed strong opposition in February to an administration plan to increase the number of carrier strike groups in the Persian Gulf from two to three and vowed privately there would be no war against Iran as long as he was chief of CENTCOM, according to sources with access to his thinking.
According to Gates, Fallon resigned because the fall-out from the article. Gates said Fallon told him: “The current embarrassing situation, public perception of differences between my views and administration policy, and the distraction this causes from the mission make this the right thing to do.” Gates said he approved Fallon’s request to retire with “reluctance and regret.
The National Security Network compiles examples of Fallon’s dissenting views from the Bush administration.
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FRIST? - so who will oppose the Iran mash now ?
"You either kiss my ass, or you can kiss my ass" George W Bush.
These FUCKS are conducting a cleansing of the military. The military that is sworn to protect and defend the CONSTITUTION...not some alcohol brained damaged idiot son of a former head of the CIA who managed to steal an election.
The military belongs to the PEOPLE...not to the drunken moron occupying the White House.
These FUCKS are really thinking about doing it. They really are.
Resigned, or did they hold the door open while someone else kicked him out it?
"Wars good business so give your sons".
- Jefferson Airplane
bomb bomb bomb iran
Let's see, Cheney the War On Iran chief instigator is heading to the Middle East, oil didn't come down after w's call on the House of Saud, sovereign investment funds are heading out over the total assets held by western banks..... see http://cabdrollery.blogspot.com/2008/03/cheney-seeks-piece-in-middle-eas...
Well, well.
That leaves a very juicy vacancy for a confirmed Bush arse-licker.
Mmm...how about Petraeus?
Is he free to speak to the press now?
Fallon told Petraeus that he considered him to be "an ass-kissing little chickenshit" and added, "I hate people like that," the sources say.
It's time to bomb, bomb, bomb ... bomb, bomb Iran.
*sigh
dear Lord, please tell me these devils don't have big plans before the general election.
I know we can easily afford another war, but it don't seem right.
The only branch of the armed services with generals crazy enough to want to start a nuclear war has always been the Air Force.
push those guys out that disagree with invading Iran
then Invade
I'm so proud of Admiral Fallon. Well done, sir!!! If more people of conscience, integrity, brains, and honest did this, that effer Bu$h would be standint with Cheney and a bunch of other dicks, wondering what the eff happened... And eventually spending time in prison for their treason and other various crimes against the American people.
what I want to know is: obama have you seen any hookers lately?
Good for you, Admiral Fallon!
Go public as soon as you are able. Run for Congress in 2008.
The bombing of Tehran begins in 4,3,2...
ralph @ 15:
Is your mother still on his campaign trail?
I hope General Batiste talks Fallon into speaking out against the war on the upcoming anniversary of it's launch.
When Bush/Cheney says......... we listen to the leaders on the ground
that really means
Agree with what we say if u want to be a leader on the ground or else it is time for you to "spend more time with your family"
if they all agree with Bush/Cheney then they are quite easy to listen to
Bush/Cheney the puss administration
Chimpy wants war. So does McBeachBoy, Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran.
And the democrats will happily fund anything. Pathetic.
Left&Left @ 18:
well said!!!
#3, L&P: I agree. Anyone in the military hierarchy who had any personal integrity and conscience has either quit or was fired. With the lunatics that are left running the show, it sure scares the hell out of me. Still got a few months to go until November. Yikes.
QFT!
Roger from Ohio @ 20:
Well, there goes the last voice of reason in the upper echelons of the military... Stand by kiddies, I suspect the shit is gonna get pretty deep now... I can just see Dick and George... Their little stiffies bulging out, salivating at their new prospects..... Oh Congress??? Oh, yea, that's right.. never mind... Feckless is the operative word here regarding those worthless wimps...........JD
Yes, he follows his generals' advice, unless they disagree with him and, then, it's time to retire. If they agree with him, they are not to be allowed to be questioned too harshly upon their reasons for agreement by anyone outside the Decider's circle.
I think that I got the logic to this game.
George W. Bush and Company
Keeping America Safe since August 2001
We clear brush and vacation for you!
Bush said he would listen to his generals on the gound -- not to his admirals in the water.
Maybe there's no point in worrying about Monster Inc steeling the election, because Bush will never leave anyway.
Oh, yes, and as we saw from the scandal at the Air Force Academy, no one is getting promoted unless they join the same end-times evangelical churches that back every move the president does.
Anyone else see the documentary where the children are taught to pray to Bush's image?
Paul C @ 26:
further, if they agree with him and then things turn to shit (and they always turn to shit) then the preznut conveniently places blame on said generals.
I'm the Decider. Not some stupid dumb arse General!
GWB
The Chimp in Chief, a coward, an amoral manling who is devoid of honor, a FUCKING DESERTER and Darth Cheney, another abject amd amoral coward, who profiteers from war and who was " too busy" doing other things to serve, both want yet another illegal war of aggression. They belong behind bars at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
If our military doesn't revolt to stop this insanity, it's going to be time for the rest of the world to unite against our rogue nation, as they did against the Axis Powers in WWII. This is insanity, and it is evil.
hey! where is my hat tip?
Does this mean we start bombing after Easter?
So Fallon has "decided" to retire. How in the world did this adminstration ever allow someone that might have dissented against the President's wishes into such a position? Was Harriet Myers too busy to take over at centcom?
oZer @ 11:
Uh, actually, we absolutely CANNOT afford another war. We're $10 trillion in debt right now, only about 2-3 tril of that is for all of the Iraq war.
There is no chance in hell America's economy will survive another war, espescially with Iran, a much much bigger and more difficult target.
Does anybody still believe the "surge" is working. Granted there is less violence in Iraq, but that is because a man by the name of Sadr, told the rag heads to stop fighting and they did. Isn't Sadr the one that runs Iraq? He's some kind of big wig in Iraq. Military big wig.
Anyway he told his troops to lay down their guns and for the most part they did. GW does not want the public to know the "surge" is a big flop. Ask a soldier. That's one of the reasons for the resignation.
Liberal AND Proud @ 3:
Two elections.
+1 on th' rest.
Well, its a tenuous link, but things have been a little rough for the passengers of the SS Minnow too:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080311/ap_on_en_tv/people_dawn_wells
I love the booking picture.
Liberal AND Proud @ 3:
I agree with these comments.
Pelosi and company took impeachment off the table. If the SOBs who stole the White House attack Iran, Nancy Pelosi is the first person who should be held accountable.
There is a lot of damage that can be done between now and January, and Congress sits idly by, contemplating how nice it will be after the elections.
rain @ 37:
Next time, could you please make your point without the derogatory reference to people who wear turbins?
With any luck General Batiste will talk Fallon into speaking out against the war on the upcoming anniversary of it’s launch.
"..the distraction this causes from the mission.." actually means, "draws attention to exactly the thing we're trying slip by the citizenry unnoticed"
Look at that sexy Democrat but pay no mind while we... Puuurrge.
prunes @ 36:
but.. but.. but the war will pay for itself, and also the reconstruction, from the Iranian oil profits...
Obama, we've got a VP for you, shoved out of the Bush administration just in time! He should appeal to the doves AND the hawks with all that hardware on his chest. And he's a man of honor as well.
When you are cowering in your bunkers, remember the Bush campaign motto:
"Whatever it takes" to embezzle funds from the U.S. Federal Budget for BUSHCO profit.
I'd like to point out that Hillary Clinton is the only democratic Presidential candidate who voted for the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment - which will make a more bellicose American approach toward Iran all the easier now that Fallon is out of the way.
100 REASONS NOT TO VOTE FOR HILLARY CLINTON
IT'S NUMBER 4 ON THE LIST
Do these assholes realize how smashed we are going to get by the rest of the world if we do this? Do they? Do they even care?
If they don't think there will be some form of economic retaliation by Europe, Russia, China, South America.... jesus.
But hey, at least metal commodities will be so high we can't fight the war with bullets!
material vessel @ 10:
That's nonsense. Fallon said that he hated such, as a challenge to Petraeus. He did NOT call him that name.
Typical military oohrah hard talk, meaning absolutely nothing.
"The Missing Link"
Misperception- Erroneous opinion.
Misconceive- A mistaken thought, idea, or notion; a misunderstanding
Misderived – To turn or divert improperly.
Misguided - To lead or guide in the wrong direction; lead astray.
Mislead - To lead into error of thought or action, especially by intentionally deceiving.
Misdirected - To be given wrong directions or instructions
Misjudge – To get the wrong impression of. Judge wrongly.
Misdemeanor – A misdeed.
High crime -
Misprision (negative) is the concealment of treason or felony.
Misprision (positive) is the doing of something which ought not to be done; or the commission of a serious offence falling short of treason or felony, in other words of a misdemeanour of a public character
Is Fallon's nickname "Fox"? I think Gate refers to him as "Fox" at about 2:45.
Apropos of nothing...
Give Fallon credit...he took office as Commander of the Mid-East on March 7th, 2007
and will remain until the end of this month, so he, unlike others who did not agree w/
what is going on in the Mid-east(especially Iraq) did remain for ONE full year before
deciding that he's had enough of this W/H and it's administration. I seriously doubt
that he will be permitted to "speak out"..I mean, after all, bush will probably use some
sort of "executive privilege" and/or "national security" and tell Fallon that he is not to
give his views/opinion as to the current situation in Afghan and Iraq.
I think this means bombs will be falling on Iran sometime before 1/20/09. I'm guessing shortly after the elections.
Why did that idiot start talking in the middle of Gates's press conference?
Let's say the next president finds him/herself at war in 3 places, running a country universally loathed and with the sole international ally of the Israeli right wing. Let's say we have tremendous deficits and the new president is fiscally hamstrung from addressing the nation"s problems. Oh yeah, lets put the judiciary squarely in the control of the far right Federalist' Society. If we do go to war with Iran then there is no denying that the Bush administration will have left a legacy, however dismal, not seen since FDR. These are big big messes and will take a long time to fix.
danger @ 49:
I know alcohol doesn't solve anything, but that's going to be my go to reaction.
mica @ 48:
Who's Joshy voting for?
mica @ 48:
Your timing is way off. Kyl-Lieberman was an attempt to move this forward LAST YEAR. Bushco doesn't need K-L or anything like it. According to them, they have all the power they need from the Iraq Resolution. And, yes, she voted for that (the IR would have passed easily without her vote). But the point is that the attack on Iran does not require the Congress' assent, it requires a PRETEXT, and a RETALIATION which no amount of Congressional reaction will likely stop.
If they try to do another IR, they will lose. They intend to use the Gulf of Tonkin approach, but without the subsequent appeal to Congress's approval.
L.A. Confidential @ 27:
And we keep the malls stocked with low-cost goods from China for you.
'Gilligan's' Mary Ann caught with dope
http://tinyurl.com/34g7ur
The neocons were much more notorious for this under Rummy. I wonder who lit the fire on the bridge? Either way, an Admiral knows that the neocons gameplan means using naval warships to bomb and fire on Iranian coastal installations, and its clear that they intend to shoot the price of oil to another hundred a barrel. Someone has to stop these criminals from their war for oil profits, its insanity. Truly, its insane and profitable at the same time.
And Iran could cause a really bloody nose for the 5th Fleet in the Straits of Hormuz and Fallon has got to know this.
So when are the extra carrier groups moving in. Time to buy oil futures.
An article comes out that casts him in a light of disagreeing with the president, so he resigns because he does agree with the president???
*shakes my head vigorously*
What am I not getting?
Lollimom @ 40:
THAT they have not gone to war with Iran yet is already HER accomplishment.
Your alternative reality looked like this:
Speaker Pelosi allows the impeachment filings in January 2007.
The Senate holds a trial, and conviction FAILS by March 2007, because there aren't 67 loyal votes in the current Senate.
Iran is attacked and carpet bombed in June 2007, and is now in March 2008, a smoking hole with radicalized counterattack battles going on in ten Muslim countries around the world, and bombs going off all over in Europe. Congratulations!
And the Speaker would be completely off the hook. After all, she 'did her duty to the Constitution' as the Pelosi-bashers like to say.
I know this is off topic but...
Is anyone else concerned that Howie Kurtz wife is on the payrole of, and recieves money from the republican party?
In other words, half of the Kurtz famly income depends on Karl Rove's aproval?
Last December, when the National Intelligence Estimate downgraded the immediate
nuclear threat from Iran, it seemed as if Fallon's caution was justified.
Fallon began to calmly push back against what he saw as an ill-advised action.
http://www.esquire.com/features/fox-fallon
Peter G @ 63:
Thats what the cons are doing. The "Smart Republicon Money Crowd".
L.A. Confidential @ 61:
OMG getting high with Dawn Wells, while watching Gilligan's Island. I'd pay $5500 a night for that!
Filthy Harry @ 69:
Hey I like her!
http://www.gilligansisle.com/images/wells3.jpg
Old Billy Hussein @ 57:
That's been my reaction for some time. Liver . . almost . . shot . .
L.A. Confidential @ 70:
I hear ya, I'm down with Mary Ann too.
Blue Lensmadinejad @ 71:
I've managed to resist. Shunning beer or TV was our most powerful weapon back in my day.
Filthy Harry @ 72:
Her tips for staying young. Some good grass. . . . . . . .
:-)
Another good man "Zinni'd" by bushco.
Filthy Harry @ 64:
He was fired, didn't "retire".
Paul in L.A.
Damn Paul.. You and I don't always agree, but I'd say you are right about this one... A Gulf of Tonkin scam, or in this case Persian Gulf incident/scam sounds about right to me......The thing I still have a hard time wrapping my head around is how this cabal of immoral 'people' managed to so completely undermine every facet of this nations government right before our eyes. Has everyone who coulda done something real to stop it, been THAT asleep at the wheel?? I know in my heart all this shit started with Nixons downfall and the practical steps to ruin us began with Reagan.. 30 years ago, and I watched with my own eyes the first instance of duplicity in the 80s when Ollie North got away with that whole Iran/contra gunrunning b.s. on T.V. no less, and yet.. I still can't believe we have allowed it to get to this point. Got any ideas from the street level protest side of things? I am feeling we are really screwed this time....Especially if Bush/Cheney actually pull the trigger on this Iran wetdream..JD
L.A. Confidential @ 74:
I thought she was just trying to stay relevant.
Peter G @ 63:
There are two in the Gulf and one in the eastern Mediterranean, or something like that.
They haven't been able to gin up the big war they hoped for. Even with Fallon out, resistance by Gates and within CENTCOM will still be opposing Bushco's planned war-extension.
Just when you start thinking the Bush administration actual reads and heeds the NIE's on Iran and WW III has been averted the drum of war starts beating again... This is a bad sign the Admiral leaving... Here's a link to the Esquire article that apparently got the Admiral fired: http://www.esquire.com/features/fox-fallon
A full frontal assault seems pretty unlikely under the circumstances, but there might be one less barrier to some "hot pursuit".
I heard Warren Buffet has moved into a big position with Kraft. Heh, instant mac & cheese gonna be a big staple in the future isn't it?
Forced to fall on his sword - or be busted to Private. In this country it seems that if you tell the truth it costs you - big time.
The cancer in this administration - from top to bottom - is going to kill this country. That is, unless the criminals behind all of this are stopped by any means that will ensure permanent removal. It began with reagan, continued with bush41, and continues to this day with bush43.
If the country doesn't start using its mediocre intelligence before the next set of elections, and votes in any demoquack we are in trouble. If the country allows mccain a place at the feeding trough, we can look forward to, perhaps another bush presidency when jebbie assumes it from after a cancer-weakened mccain resigns.
Does anyone seriously think mccain, with 4 separate instances of malignant melanoma, will survive very long?
jack damage @ 77:
Really? That's not hard to understand. The power of the Military-Corporate Complex meeting the "vast rightwing conspiracy" to take over the U.S. (HRC, 1994). Easy, peasie.
When RRR fostered Dick Cheney and his 'shadow gov't' in 1982, you just knew shit was coming. Then Iran-Contra went by without a whisper. And Bill Clinton was attacked feverishly. Gingrich tries the scorched earth policy, and then Diebold and crooked SecStates do their circus act, and 70% of the Congress gets their orders from the Capo. And down the chute we go.
But they failed. Even with all that prep, they failed. And the reason:
Boy Wonder. He just ain't a hero, and he pushed the limits at every turn, even when that was a bad idea. Had his brother, Jeb, who was supposed to be the Pres. candidate in 2000, been elected (with or without the votefraud), we would currently mostly be dead.
We dodged a bullet -- they went with the idiot -- and the idiot lost his steam back in 2003. And we ripped out the votefraud at the state level, with massive activism, and our landslides started getting recorded. And now the whole R party is looking like Hitler's shoe leather after a long march -- sweaty, guilty, and worn.
And what we need now is PROSECUTION, prosecution, prosecution. Unlike Iran-Contra, working hard now but with real power next year, dogs -- teeth -- pants.
Paul in LA @ 79:
The comments by Fallon and Gates are incompatible. Fallon simply comments on the effect of the public perception of his difference with Bush while Gates comments on the error of that perception.
Gates is onboard. Dont assume that action isnt imminent.
And a better question, what is known about Fallons replacement.
Yeah, go ahead. Invade Iran. After the Iranian president's visit to Baghdad - where he walked around Iraq as though he was taking a Sunday afternoon jog in Central Park - I'm sure the people of Iraq will be just as thrilled about a bombing of Iran as the Iranian people will be. I really do believe the people in the Bush White House are ingesting hallucinogenics. Our country has no money, no military and absolutely no stomach for another stupid war, and that's not even mentioning what this will do to the price of a gallon of gasoline. So go ahead. Please. Do it a month or two before the November election so your Republican buddies can get their war on and go down in flames, along with any treacherous, pussy Dems who vote to attack Iran. And I'm sure the rest of the middle east will be all hunky dory with it. Why, I'll bet they'll just sit back and leave Israel alone as the U.S. uses all of it's resources to fight Iran. And I am absolutely positive that all of the Shiite militias in Iraq will honor their cease-fires with us as their Shiite brethren are being killed in Iran. I seriously do believe that the Bush/Cheney administration delusionally sees this as another walk in the park, as they did with Iraq. But this is going to be much, much deadlier. An attack on Iran will unite the Iranians, who are some of the most educated and patriotic citizens in the middle east. I do not see them rising up against their government as the Bush/Cheney masculine/mescaline fantasy seems to think. But I'm sure the MSM will help Bush/Cheney push their patriotic "we're all neocons now" (to quote tweety of MSNBC) endeavor until, of course, the body bags come back in such alarming numbers that even the subservient media will have to show the arriving coffins on national television. So go ahead - bomb Iran and sacrifice thousands more of our soldiers to the meat grinder. Make John McCain's masturbatory fantasy come true. I will shut off the news and wait for Bush and the Republicans to be marched to the political scaffold. I only wonder if, in trying to save their own hides after the folly of this ghastly debacle, they will finally apologize for destroying our nation.
Al Christensen @ 54:
Fallon or no, that would already be their wish schedule.
Many little cruise missiles, with bows on them.
Are we going to outsource the Iran war!
Lord, I'll meet ya with my horse at Armageddon.
anon @ 85:
Gates is NOT on board. Attack is not imminent.
That doesn't mean that Gates will stop a cruise missile attack. But the defense community (and Gates) are NOT interested in starting a third war.
Dom@86, they will blame us. Thugs always blame their victims - ask any abused woman if she was blamed by her abuser.
This country assumes it can recover by out lasting/waiting them. Of course they cant. The central 'operative' principle of the neo-cons is keep moving. They act without consultation and leave others to catch up, leaving them many steps ahead of any persuit. They are doing that even now. Catch up wont work. I hate to say this as it echo's Bush, but preemption is needed.
"he announced the departure of Chief Admiral Fallon ..."
No offense, John Amato, but what in the heck is a "Chief Admiral"? I'm in the Navy, trust me, neither that rank nor that title exists. Perhaps not everyone will agree with me, but you really showed tremendous ignorance about the military with the mere use of that little phrase. Why should we consider anything else you have to say about the military, its commanders or defense policy?
"If our military doesn’t revolt to stop this insanity, it’s going to be time for the rest of the world to unite against our rogue nation, as they did against the Axis Powers in WWII. This is insanity, and it is evil."
Yep, Paul, I figure it pretty much the same way.
I think I will go out and start to dig my bomb shelter.
Paul in LA @ 89:
Defend your assertion - I did. I asserted that Gates was onboard because of his 'differenced' characterization of Fallons comments ... spin.
I will add this. If attack werent imminent, tell me what ... operationally ... is harmed by the perception that Fallon is opposed to an attack that will never happen?
I dont believe you are correct - for the reasons I have given. I have no idea why you assert otherwise.
Luis M. Luque @ 91:
No, that's the rightwing blogs that have the uniform fetishes and the deep concern for the intricacies of rank. You point your browser over there, if you're done watching the Military channel, and they will indoctrinate you just fine.
Luis M. Luque @ 91:
He was openly quoting published reports - with video - not presenting himself as a military expert.
anon @ 93 "Defend your assertion - I did. I asserted that Gates was onboard because of his 'differenced' characterization of Fallons comments ... spin."
Gates is going to talk tough in any case. But he essentially vetoed the carpet bombing plan that was in place when he took office. He is also not a redhot -- he has most of the military screaming at him to do something to scale Bushco back.
"If attack werent imminent, tell me what ... operationally ... is harmed by the perception that Fallon is opposed to an attack that will never happen?"
IF Bushco attacks Iran in the short-term, they DESTROY the R party in November. They are already having massive defections. Bushco wants to attack Iran before they leave office. The obvious time for that is after the elections, unless a 'counterattack' instance can be arranged. IF they were able to start a conflict with Iran over a pretext, they would have massive opposition around the world, here at home, and the Congress would have a good basis for turning away from the "OK, you screwed up, now leave quietly" approach that is preferred in DC.
From that standpoint, I'd prefer they attack Iran sooner rather than later. Because the result of that is probably massively bad for Bushco.
There are no words.....our country is being run a couple of stark raving lunatics. What is going on in their depraved warmongering heads?
odanny @ 62:
prunes @ 36:
Paul C @ 26:
Paul C.: Sounds a lot like the Stalin I read about this weekend, only without the intelligence and the balls to shoot people who disagreed with him.
Ozer: Listen to what Prunes says, as he isn't full of his username....
Odanny: Not only that, but under Clinton with no opposition, the U.S. failed to knock out a half-starved, undermanned, and underequipped Serb army. Iran's army is by no means what Serbians were in the 1990s, and they've had all the lovely experience of watching our attack patterns since 2001 in Afghanistan and 2003 in Iraq to learn from, along with the simple logic that they can give us a black eye that we can't afford. Imagine the Revolutionary Guard attacking a U.S. army incapable of striking back with an opportunistic Sadrist and Sunni revolution again, and you've got what the opening stages of an Iran war will look like....
This may be a set back to the Republicans and their plans for an "October surprise" even though the opening up of a new war front in the Middle East wouldn't be much of a surprise to anybody anyway, given Fallon's recent and past statements. The Admiral has practically telegraphed the administration's intentions for the approaching American elections.
What a mess for the Democrats to clean up!
They will probably start bombing after tax time. Got to suck us dry and then start the war to end all wars, and humanity. Anyone still think there is going to be an election?
Paul in LA @ 94:
Smart aleck, Paul, I never said I agreed with Bush Administration Middle East or defense policy, but my point remains the same and is valid. I have a couple of months left before retirement, so I'm not going to jeopardize my future by speaking out against the administration. If YOU knew anything about the military, you'd understand my position. But seriously, if he can't even note the man's rank properly (WHEN IT'S WRITTEN RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM), then clearly, he doesn't show much concern for accuracy and doesn't know the military very well.
I happen to have a great deal of respect for Admiral Fallon and think he was definitely the right man for the job. I actually worked in the same command for a brief period of time. I think retired Marine Gen. John J. Sheehan is another who has Fallon's deep strategic grasp, and you notice what he did when he was offered the job of "war czar." I think the administration needs to listen more carefully to the voices of dissent that present themselves.
The 'chief admiral' problem has to do with being an admiral in charge of CENTCOM, the first such admiral. 'Commander admiral' would be perhaps more correct. Given the unwieldy nature of that nomenclature, 'chief,' a Navy term, is not so far to go. So 'Chief Admiral' is NOT a Navy term, but a CENTCOM/Navy nomenclature.
Putting an admiral in charge of CENTCOM was already advertising the desire for a sea-based war with Iran.
Luis M. Luque @ 101:
Of course not. You have to look out for #1, screw the situation.
Vote for Hillary! She'll carry out President Cheney's Iranian wet dreams for sure.
ANY military attack on Iran, with 160,000 troops right next door, is not going to be endorsed by anyone who is sane. It reminds me of the attacks on the Soviet Union and those Generals in the Wehrmacht who knew it was insanity but had no choice to go along with it. Say this country posesses the devastating SS22 "shore to ship" anti-ship missile, made in Russia, anyone in a carrier group has thirty seconds to engage and shoot down, after that window of opportunity is closed its too late. It can sink ships, not only damage them
No one even knows for sure if Iran posesses these, but they are also highly mobile and will be hard targets to hit if they do.
Fallon knows what the neocons dont, attacking Iran is not only dangerous for the U.S. Navy, its dangerous for all those soldiers and airmen in Iraq.
These neocons are pushing people into corners one last time, hope for more Fallon's in the military to oppose these nutcases, looking to exploit any opportunity to bomb Iran.
The Iranian speedboat "threatening" our fleet was called out nicely by Ron Paul some time ago. I just hope resistance to the neocons grows and grows before its too late to stopa thrid disaster, after Afghanistan and Iraq.
Luis M. Luque @ 101:
Well, let me back off the snark some, and ask if you have any insights into Dempsey?
"I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign-policy matters with war on my mind." ~ George W. Bush on Meet the Press - Feb. 8th, 2004
Paul in LA @ 103:
Hilarious, Paul. But if your children's groceries were on the line, I think you might have just as many second thoughts. Yes, for now, screw the situation. It's not like writing a comment on a Web site will help the situation in the Middle East, but it certainly could land me in jail. It's always easy to be courageous and make a political or philosophical point when it's someone else's butt on the line, isn't it?
Because Luis M. Luque @ 91; my little navy friend, the implications of what is going on and where it is leading this nation is far more important than some error on rank. And this is one of the few places left to get a perspective that hasn't been stamped approved by Bushco propaganda inc., for dissemination to the masses mister squid..... And you are hearing this from an ex-squid, so just save the rest of the jargon sailor. JD
odanny @ 105:
It's horribly dangerous, but it's with nuclear weapons as the backup plan, quite obviously. Bushco's policy is genocide, anyhow. The real issue is what they can do on a pretext, because an actual cassus belli doesn't exist.
So let me get this straight.
Gates says Fallon is "retiring" because someone in ESQUIRE F@CKING MAGAZINE wrote an article?
I have a pit in my stomach. On to Tehran, I guess...
Paul in LA @ 106:
Don't know Dempsey from Adam, but I can tell you that nobody in the military wants anything to do with leading this war if they can help it. I'm pretty sure we'll hear from Fallon again soon. As for Petreus, he clearly seems to know what he's doing, and I wish he'd been in charge over there from the moment we landed troops in the field. Then again, Rumsfeld wasn't going to let some mere four-star general actually run the show over there. Gates, thank goodness, seems a bit more restrained. Notice how far under the radar he has managed to keep himself.
Time's growing short to lie America into another war before the election.
Watch for Fallon's replacement to be totally gung-ho to attack Iran. Bush wants it, Cheney wants it, Lieberman wants it, and Likud wants it. Therefore, it will happen.
Luis M. Luque @ 108:
Your 'butt' is your career. Me, as a street protester, I faced off on eight men who wanted fist fights on the night the war started, including two Marines in uniform. I've been maced, I've been punched, I've been handcuffed, I've been spat on, I've been hit by flying objects, and I've had a TANK pointed at me in the streets of Westwood.
Did I take an oath to protect the United States from all enemies, foreign AND DOMESTIC? No, I never did. But my love of country is such that I take my chances in the streets.
#103: "Of course not. You have to look out for #1, screw the situation."
I think his resignation may actually help the situation more than if he were to stay. Otherwise, he would have had to be the simple soldier and carry out orders given to him. Most often military folks have to resign before they can speak out, and even then there are restrictions on their speech.
Resigning at this point may have been one of the most selfless things he could have done. There were few options for him.
And while the neocons scheme to bomb Iran, and risk an entire fleet (probably will try and launch a nuke knowing these fucking nutjobs) they can only guess at what we know China has, and that is the "Sunburn" anti ship missile.
Strangely, the U.S. Navy is one of the services not to be affected with losing its servicemen and women to the alter of the neocons wars, and they seem hell bent on changing this
jack damage @ 109:
What jargon? And when did I imply that getting the rank right was MORE IMPORTANT than "the implications of what is going on and where it is leading this nation..."
All I said was that John Amato's opinion about military issues doesn't carry any weight with me. He hurt his own credability. Does that mean he's not allowed to have an opinion? Certainly not. But it obviously shouldn't be regarded as Gospel.
jimbo92107 @ 113:
Your defeatism is noted.
Fallon's replacement as CENTCOM commander is Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, Army officer who replaced Sanchez as head of 1st Armored, before being made CENTCOM deputy commander.
Luis M. Luque @ 117:
It's 'credibility.' Any officer should be able to spell. So you lost your credibility, right there.
Paul in LA @ 114:
And quite honestly, I admire your courage. Seriously. But put yourself in my shoes for a minute. Would you start protesting against the administration if you were less than two months from a lifelong pension? You can bet Adm. Fallon won't say anything until he's retired. You just don't bite the hand that feeds you AND YOUR CHILDREN. Until it's safe to do so.
dharma pup @ 104:
That's nonsense.
Paul in LA @ 119:
Yeah, I'm certain you've never misspelled a word in your life. And what makes you so certain I'm an officer? You just jumped to a hell of a conclusion. I'm an enlisted man. So much for YOUR cred -- i -- bility.
Paul 114:
Hold it a minute, a tank? That would make the news, I think, as an American Tianmen square or Prague in 1968. When and where did all this happen? Something smells here.....
Luis M. Luque @ 120:
No, I do not accept your argument. And no, your children's support is not a sufficient basis for ignoring your oath.
This is the stink that infects the ENTIRE officer corps. None of you have done your duty, and you excuse yourselves even now. It's a corrupt military culture.
Paul in LA @ 124:
Um, I think you are full of shit here. His children depend on him for food, and you'd demand he make them starve in order to get your wank-fantasy on how some American counterpart to Russia in 1917 would work....
You, sir, are a troll after all.
Any attack on Iran is understood by Fallon to bring about a military response from the Iranians and the Straits of Hormuz is a choke point. The Iranians could close it.
The only 'good' thing about the possiblility of attacking Iran,
would hopefully get the lazy sheep of this country off their collective
asses, away from the TV, and take the stained White House back
by force. Sharpen your pitchforks. tic...toc...tic...toc
General_Rennenkampf @ 123:
It made a tiny blip. Tank and Stryker, rolled over from the VA a few weeks after Arnold Schwarzenegger stole office in 2003 and proceeded to block traffic all over the state with long black Hummer caravans.
They pointed the turret at us, and they wiggled the machine guns at us. And the LAPD was NOWHERE in sight, in spite of the fact that this was in front of the WW Federal building.
lucid fiction @ 127:
And stick them in your feet so you don't do something stupid.
Violence feeds fascism -- it does not stop it.
Paul in LA @ 124:
Again, I'm not an officer. And if you'd ever served in the military, you'd know that it's not a "corrupt" officer corps. We not only take an oath to defend our enemies "foreign and domestic," but to OBEY THE ORDERS OF THE PRESIDENT AND THOSE APPOINTED OVER ME. Now, if the president sends me to Iraq or Iran, I might have more of an argument, but luckily, that hasn't been the case. But I ask you, what would you have proposed on 9/12 had you been the president? I was aboard an aircraft carrier, and we were sent to protect the skies over New York City. Let me tell you, seeing the smoke over the skyline, I really wanted to do something, to exact retribution on someone. Was Iraq justified? I'll let history decide that. At the time, I wasn't in a position to just quit the Navy because we invaded.
General_Rennenkampf @ 125:
Wow, that's a good reason not to join the military, because when you take that oath, it comes with a higher mandate than 'feed your children.'
About 500,000 children are dead in Iraq since 2000. The gov't of the US was taken over by a coup.
According to you, military officers' first duty is to their careers and their children's lunch ticket. My Navy dad would turn over in his grave, and so would five-star General Eisenhower.
oZer @ 11:
What do you mean we can easily afford another war..China is paying for Iraq. Admiral Fallon was the only thing keeping Bush from his insanity along with Cheney.
Luis M. Luque @ 130:
So during a coup, you are good to go.
OK, you're not an officer, so nevermind. Your excuses made for them are moot.
I'm not a peacenik, unlike many of my fellow protesters. I accept the need for a military, and for international military treaties. But when I defend the military, this kind of rank (and unranked) cowardice makes it even harder.
Paul in LA @ 131:
The same Eisenhower that allowed two or three massacres of Italians and Germans in WWII? The same Eisenhower who let Patton slide with something that in today's climate would get the SOB bounced out of the army? That Eisenhower? I'm underwhelmed.
Filthy Harry @ 72:
The booking picture is even better. And check up thread, at least I tried to tie it into the subject.
Gates is NOT on board. Attack is not imminent.
That doesn’t mean that Gates will stop a cruise missile attack. But the defense community (and Gates) are NOT interested in starting a third war.
They will probably start bombing after tax time. Got to suck us dry and then start the war to end all wars, and humanity. Anyone still think there is going to be an election?
We are screwed folks. Pakistan has vowed to back Iran if attacked. End of story. They have nukes and will strike the green zone. Straight of Hormuz will be shut. Gas will sky rocket to $10+++. Mass chaos and protest in US....Martial Law. There will be no revolution, first step will be to secure all ammo and lock up protesters and dissenters, they have left the light on at the KBR detention facilities.
Bless Our Troops who have been asked to die for false witness... murder and urban bombing in the cause of a national Mortal Sin! How shameful.
Bushco has been setting the stage for this and the blood of our Nation is on Conyer's and Pelosi's hands for failing in their sworn oath of office.
The Rainbow Warriors are coming folks. Get ready. The Canupa Wakan will be filled and smoked. The Sacred Bow will be made and hidden, and the prayers of Justice transacted to the Wakiyan Oyate as the medicine allows.
I wait to see what future path is chosen but now I fear I will have no choice and I am sorry for the children who will suffer when they realize their parents cannot protect them. But in all things the universe must be fair and Just, and the prophesy will come to pass.
May Wakan Tanka have mercy on us all.
Mitakuye O'Yasin!
Sue @ 132:
It's not quite that bad. There are many elements in the military that are resisting, even if the current sailor denies that.
How many hundreds of sailors have I talked to with the exact same corrupt orientation to their service? It's not as bad as the genocidal Marines, but not by much. Half the oohrah we have to deal with comes from sailors who 'fought for our freedoms' while swabbing out the shitters on some dock in the Phillipines.
my guess is the owners of the us military israel is getting antsy to get on with the butchery of the iran people, get er done moshe!
lucid fiction @ 127:
Unless it happens during sweeps week.
General_Rennenkampf @ 134:
I see. So if you have no respect for Eisenhower, it's understandable that you think it's OK that sailors and soldiers take their oath of service as a joke.
Paul in LA @ 133:
I'm glad you see a need for the military. So many "peaceniks" think the whole idea silly. Those are the ones most likely to end up in concentration camps.
And I'm not making excuses for officers or anyone else in the military. They don't need me to. What we do is honorable. What can lack honor is the reason for the fighting, but not the fighting itself. Look to your civilian leaders. They control the military. Often enough, it's people in the military (whose lives are on the line) who don't want to go to war. I seem to recall an instance Madeleine Albright chastising Colin Powell for not wanting to use his military toys. And she was a diplomat in the Clinton administration. Don't be so sure we all want to go kill people and destroy things. Sure, that's what we're trained to do, but most of us only want to do it if and when it's justified.
Vman @ 136:
That's nonsense. No such great horror is coming. Pakistan will not engage the United States in a nuclear war to protect Iran.
Lakhota people deserve a lot more respect than they generally get. But a LOT of Lakhota are fighting right now in that theater, as I'm sure you know. How many of them are following a code higher than doing what they are ordered to?
Luis M. Luque @ 141:
During the immediate period before Nixon resigned the JCS sent a message to all commands worldwide: "Do not obey any orders from the President." Isn't it time for another JCS message?
Bush wants war with Iran. Bush will get his war with Iran! Bush will do whatever he needs to do to have a war with Iran.
"When it comes to fighting wars, I will listen to the generals. Right up to the time they tell me I'm nuts (and a war criminal) to bomb another country (and kill thousands of more innocent civilians) which hasn't attacked America."
Vman @ 136:
Is that the Irish Lakota?
Rufus @ 144:
Really?
Paul in LA @ 89:
Really? Think back to the pre-NIE report days... There were continual references by the administration to Iran's nuclear weapons development... I think it was clear to anyone looking at this info manipulation that the Bush administration was gearing up for some military action against Iran... When the NIE came out and said Iran hadn't been involved in a nuclear weapons program for the previous 3-4 years ALL OF THAT RHETORIC STOPPED. Do you think the Bush administration was taking us back down the same road they did with Iraq just because they missed the fun they had deceiving us about the threats to our security? We were being manipulated then as we were when Buch took us to Iraq... And starting a "Third War" is exactly what they were gearing up to do... Given what Bush and Company has done to this country so far, how could you give them the benefit of the doubt that they wouldn't take us into a 3rd war?
PS: and THANK YOU to the intelligencia that released that NIE at the most opportune time... Had it not been for that report I am reasonably certain we'd be ass-deep in a situation that would look more like WW III than anything we started in Iraq.
So the House just overrode the torture veto, 219-184.
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