Adm. William Fallon Steps down as CIC.............

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Adm. William Fallon, head of the U.S. military command in charge of Iraq and Afghanistan, stepped down on Tuesday in the wake of a magazine article that portrayed him as challenging President George W. Bush on Iran policy, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

"The current embarrassing situation and 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 quoted Fallon as saying in a letter of resignation.

Admiral in charge of Iraq war resigns - Yahoo! News

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"A blockbuster Esquire article published last week predicted that Fallon would be removed to make way for a general who was more "pliable" to war with Iran:

If, in the dying light of the Bush administration, we go to war with Iran, it'll all come down to one man. If we do not go to war with Iran, it'll come down to the same man. He is that rarest of creatures in the Bush universe: the good cop on Iran, and a man of strategic brilliance. His name is William Fallon, although all of his friends call him "Fox," which was his fighter-pilot call sign decades ago. [...]"

Fallon Resigns As Mideast Military Chief - Politics on The Huffington Post

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"I have great respect for Admiral Fallon's service to our country, and also for his strategic vision. His decision to resign abruptly in the midst of the war in Iraq raises a number of serious questions that I hope will be answered over the course of the next few days.

"On many occasions-most recently in letters dated January 17-I have suggested to the chairmen of both the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees that Admiral Fallon be brought more aggressively into the oversight process with respect to the occupation of Iraq and the overall strategic approach to resolving the issues of the region.

"In particular, I had hoped that Admiral Fallon would join General David Petraeus this spring when General Petraeus is scheduled to testify on the pace of troop reduction and mission adjustment in Iraq.

"One of the lessons of the build up to the Iraq War is that the advice of our most senior military officers was too often ignored by the civilian leadership within the Bush administration. In the coming days and weeks, I hope that we can call on Admiral Fallon to more directly share his thoughts and concerns with the American people."

Raising Kaine:: Sen. Webb Statement on Admiral Fallon's Resignation

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Originally Posted by nhboy

"I have great respect for Admiral Fallon's service to our country, and also for his strategic vision. His decision to resign abruptly in the midst of the war in Iraq raises a number of serious questions that I hope will be answered over the course of the next few days.

"On many occasions-most recently in letters dated January 17-I have suggested to the chairmen of both the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees that Admiral Fallon be brought more aggressively into the oversight process with respect to the occupation of Iraq and the overall strategic approach to resolving the issues of the region.

"In particular, I had hoped that Admiral Fallon would join General David Petraeus this spring when General Petraeus is scheduled to testify on the pace of troop reduction and mission adjustment in Iraq.

"One of the lessons of the build up to the Iraq War is that the advice of our most senior military officers was too often ignored by the civilian leadership within the Bush administration. In the coming days and weeks, I hope that we can call on Admiral Fallon to more directly share his thoughts and concerns with the American people."

Raising Kaine:: Sen. Webb Statement on Admiral Fallon's Resignation

Are you trying to say the because Mr. Webb says it that it should happen? He is a democrat with an agenda... Much like you...

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Adm. Fallon's Dissenting Voice: Views on Iraq Strategy More in Line With American Mainstream than Bush Administration

Adm. Fallon—Commander of U.S. Central Command and Gen. David Petraeus' superior—has consistently been less enthusiastic on the surge than Petraeus and other Bush Administration officials. His dissenting voice on the Iraq surge strategy has been disregarded by the White House, and his strong support for balancing our focus on Iraq with other regional priorities has yet to be fully realized.

Fallon's Differences with Petraeus Described as "Armageddon": Fallon "has been saying from Day One, 'This [the surge] isn't working,'" and "The profoundly different views of the U.S. role in Iraq only exacerbated the schism between the two men. 'Bad relations?" said a senior civilian official with a laugh. "That's the understatement of the century. If you think Armageddon was a riot, that's one way of looking at it.'" [Washington Post, 9/9/2007]

Fallon Built Alternative Plan for Substantial Withdrawal by 2010: Last September, "President Bush listened to contrasting visions of the U.S. future in Iraq. Gen. David H. Petraeus dominated the conversation by video link from Baghdad, making the case to keep as many troops as long as possible to cement any security progress. Adm. William J. Fallon, his superior, argued instead for accepting more risks in Iraq, officials said, in order to have enough forces available to confront other potential threats in the region." The discussion "masked a sharper clash over the U.S. venture in Iraq, one that has been building since Fallon, chief of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, sent a rear admiral to Baghdad this summer to gather information. Soon afterward, officials said, Fallon began developing plans to redefine the U.S. mission and radically draw down troops." [Washington Post, 9/9/2007]

Fallon Admits that Limiting Our Combat Mission Key to Achieving Political Stability in Iraq: "Fallon is also said to believe that giving the Iraqi government a clearer sense that the U.S. troop commitment is limited would help spur the Iraqis to pass legislation and take other steps aimed at achieving reconciliation among the warring sectarian factions in Iraq." [IHT, 9/7/07]

Fallon Remains More Aggressive on Substantial Troop Reductions than the Administration. Adm. Fallon stated that he would like to see the U.S. "transfer more and more responsibility for security in Iraq to Iraqi security forces and, at the same time, withdrawing a substantial amount of our combat forces." While he favors a pause in troop reductions, he believes it should be "temporary and brief". According to the NY Times, "Admiral Fallon's comments struck a somewhat different tone from the one voiced privately by Bush administration officials who have said they advocate holding to troop levels before the 'surge' for some months, perhaps even until the end of the administration." [NYT, 2/28/2008; AP, 2/25/2008]

Fallon Favors Focusing on Regional Threats in Afghanistan Instead of Solely Iraq: After very brief troop reduction pause in Iraq, Fallon wants a "resumption of withdrawals to ease stress on the overall military and allow him to balance deployments across the volatile region." He also stated that he hoped to add "a couple of thousand" military trainers to support Afghan Army and police forces. However, he did acknowledge that more troops in Afghanistan are not enough and that the strategy and execution need to improve. "Could we do better with a few more folks? Of course. But the real challenge is: Where is the economic viability for this place?" [NYT, 2/28/2008]

Adm. Fallon's Dissenting Voice: Views on Iraq Strategy More in Line With American Mainstream than Bush Administration | National Security Network