US Mid-East commander steps down over Iran war plans.
Well, this is troubling little story:
The commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, Admiral William Fallon, is to retire from his post early. He cited the "embarrassing situation and public perception of differences between my views and administration policy" as the reason for retiring. An article by Esquire magazine said he was opposed to the use of force against Iran over its nuclear activities.So how did the US Defence Secretary Robert Gates react to Fallon's offer of retirement?
"I have approved Admiral Fallon's request to retire with reluctance and regret," he told reporters at the Pentagon.
He said the admiral would be sorely missed.
Gates went on to say that he agreed with the Admiral's decision to stand down.
The Esquire article suggested Adm Fallon was standing up to a president supposedly contemplating war with Iran.
He is described in the article as "the strongest man standing between the Bush Administration and a war with Iran".
Mr Gates said the idea, suggested in the article, that Adm Fallon's departure indicated that the US was planning to go to war with Iran was "ridiculous".
Then why does Gates think that Fallon's idea to step down was the right one? If the magazine article is totally wrong in it's presumption that Bush is planning to attack Iran before he leaves office - and Fallon is opposed to such a move - why is it necessary for Fallon to retire?
If a General is against you attacking country A - and you have no intention of attacking country A during your remaining time in office - it would not be necessary for that General to stand down.
So it's a bit of a worry that Fallon's resignation has been accepted. By vetoing a bill that would outlaw waterboarding, Bush has made it very clear that he gives not a hoot for his legacy, or at the very least that he wants his legacy to be seen as someone who did everything - legal or illegal - to protect American interests.
This news has to make one reconsider the notion that Bush is too much of a lame duck President to launch any kind of attack against Iran.
It is being reported that Fallon's comments to al Jazeera TV last year that, "I expect there will be no war", incurred the wrath of the Bush administration. Now, perhaps it's as simple as Bush and Co. wanting to keep pressure on Iran with the threat of war and that those comments took pressure off Iran.Democratic senator and former presidential candidate John Kerry called for a congressional enquiry on the resignation. "Congress needs to determine immediately whether Admiral Fallon's resignation is another example of truth tellers being forced to the sidelines in the Bush administration," Senator Kerry said.
In November, the US intelligence agencies produced a joint National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran that concluded with a "high level of confidence" that its work on the design for a nuclear weapon had halted in 2003.
The NIE's publication was seen as a clear signal from America's spies they did not want to be used to justify a war against Iran in the same way they felt they had been used to go to war in Iraq.
Frequent reports last year, however, said the Bush administration has been contemplating the possibility of an attack on Iran as an extension of the conflict in Iraq. It believes Shia militiamen have been armed and trained in camps in Iran run by the Quds force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In the Esquire article, Fallon was also portrayed as opposing that option.
However, when the guy offers his resignation, and it is accepted, then the worry is also that Bush is seriously thinking about an attack and that this guy would have been in his way.
It's a lunatic notion that the US could seriously be planning any kind of military action against Iran; but we have, in Bush and Cheney, two of the most unhinged persons ever to hold high office. And they can hardly want to leave office with Iraq as their only legacy.
It has always been reported that Bush didn't want to leave office without "doing something" about Iran. This story might be nothing, or it might be the removal of the last obstacle standing in the way of Bush and "doing something".
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