WASHINGTON, March 11, 2008
White House Downplays Rift With Fallon
Admiral In Charge Of U.S. Mideast Command Resigned Amid Alleged Disagreements On Iran
-
Play CBS Video Video Top Mideast Commander Quits Admiral William Fallon submitted his resignation after a magazine article suggested he was standing in the way of U.S. military action in Iran. David Martin reports.
-
Video Gates Announces Fallon Exit "CBS News RAW": Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announces he's accepted the resignation of Adm. William Fallon, the top commander at U.S. Central Command.
-
Video Admiral Fallon Stepping Down Navy Admiral William Fallon is stepping down from his position as Commander of U.S. Forces in the Middle East. "Up to the Minute" Military Analyst Mitch Mitchell weighs in.
-
Admiral William Fallon (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
-
Timeline The U.S. And Iran Key events in once friendly, now contentious relationship between Washington and Tehran.
-
Interactive Battle For Iraq The government, the insurgency, key players, background and photos.
For Fallon, the perception of a disagreement with President George W. Bush's policies on Iran rather than an actual rift was enough reason to step down.
"Recent 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," Fallon said in a statement Tuesday in which he announced his resignation as head of U.S. Central Command, arguably the most important in the U.S. military.
Democrats seized on Fallon's resignation as an opportunity to criticize Mr. Bush.
"Over the last seven Bush years, we've seen those who toe the company line get rewarded and those who speak inconvenient truths get retired," Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said in a written statement.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., echoed Kerry's comment and said, "The last thing America needs is an echo chamber of top advisers, especially on all-important questions of war and peace."
It is highly unusual for a senior commander to resign in wartime. Fallon took the post on March 16, 2007, succeeding Army Gen. John Abizaid, who retired after nearly four years in the job. Fallon was part of a new team of senior officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, chosen by Mr. Bush to implement a revised Iraq war policy.
White House press secretary Dana Perino called the charges of stifling dissent "nonsense."
"The president welcomes robust and healthy debate," she said. "He has many members of his administration that represent different viewpoints. He has dissenting views on a variety of issues that get worked out through a policy process that is usually not fed out in the press."
"There's no one in the administration that is suggesting other than a diplomatic approach to Iran," Perino said.
An Esquire magazine article published last week described Fallon, 63, as being at odds with a president eager to go to war with Iran. Titled "The Man Between War and Peace," the article presented Fallon as a lone voice against taking military action to stop the Iranian nuclear program.
"I don't believe there have ever been any differences about the objectives of our policy in the Central Command area of responsibility," Fallon said in his statement Tuesday, and he regretted "the simple perception that there is."
Gates told a Pentagon news conference that he accepted Fallon's request to resign and retire, agreeing that the Iran issue had become a distraction. But Gates said repeatedly that he believed talk of Fallon opposing Mr. Bush on Iran was mistaken.
"I don't think that there really were differences at all," Gates said, adding that Fallon was not pressured to leave.
"He told me that, quote, '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,' unquote," Gates told reporters.
Fallon was out of step with the White House almost from the day he took over the U.S. Central Command, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin. On his first trip to Iraq, he allowed a reporter for The New York Times to accompany him to a meeting at which he lectured Prime Minister Maliki on the need for political reform. A source close to Fallon says that earned him phone calls from Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Rice and National Security Adviser Hadley. Afterwards, Fallon said he had "two strikes against me" and lamented ever taking the job.
Gates said he did not think it was the Esquire article alone that prompted Fallon to quit. Rather, Gates thought it was "a cumulative kind of thing" that he and Fallon had failed to put "behind us." He also dismissed as "ridiculous" any notion that Fallon's departure signals the United States is planning to go to war with Iran.
Fallon's departure, effective March 31, is unlikely to immediately affect conduct of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. His top deputy at Central Command, Army Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, will take his place until a permanent successor is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Dempsey had previously been selected to head U.S. Army Europe.
Gen. David Petraeus, who runs the Iraq war from Baghdad but is technically subordinate to Fallon, was known to have differences with Fallon over the timing and pace of drawing down U.S. troops from Iraq. Fallon has favored a faster pullback. Petraeus issued a statement lauding Fallon's service.
Possible replacements could include:
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add a Comment See all 70 Comments
- A nice and fair assessment of Hillary''s experience while in the Whitehouse.
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1721966,00.html - Reply to this comment
- The only reason we have not had a major attack here since 9/11 is because Bush has not needed one.
If he can start a war with Iran (at just the right time) without one, they may not need one to get Mc Cain elected either.
Why is there no monitoring systems setup to track the oil being produced in Iraq? Is it possible that the oil is being siphoned off and sold at $110 per barrel? Could it be that we want to do the same in Iran?
Of course that is just more conspiracy theories, just like the Iraq invasion being planned before 9/11, just might be why 9/11 happened in the first place.
Why did Bush immediately blame Bin Laden for 9/11, send all those troops to Afghanistan (which is next door to Iraq), just to abruptly vacate the search for Bin Laden, and use the SAME troops to rush into Iraq? - Reply to this comment
- I meant Lastdance
- Reply to this comment
- BaghdadsHere.....here ya go blasting Flashdance....
Always bashing our troops.
Always bashing the war widows calling them prostitutes.
Always blasting our commander in chief.
Trip back to your fantasy land.
Trip back to your Demoncrats Nazi party.
I guess I much be confused, because I was under the impression that Hitler was pro-big business, manipulate the media, rightist, anti-Free speech (especially on him), and was openly anti-anyone that was Non-Aryan....
One might argue that the current party in our Presidential position reflects more on YOU than you blasting those that are acting like Americans that created this nation envisioned! One of free speech, freedom from manipulation of religion, freedom of power-mongering dictatorial leaders!! Get off the all-powerful, holier than thou Republicon soapbox in the dreamland you''re in!!
If you choose to stay on...at least be able to understand someone else''s opinions just like we all can understand yours. - Reply to this comment
- BaghdadsTroopKillersHere You are the real un-american jihadist
- Reply to this comment
- BaghdadsHere,,,, I wondered how long it was going to take you wacko''s to start calling the Admiral in charge of the War on Terror un-american & a jihadist. ----- Not long at all
- Reply to this comment
- Folks,
President Bush is preparing a secret surprise before Nov-2008 to help his idiot NeoConservatives. I believe it will be a new war with Iran after the CIA said Iran is not making a nuclear bomb since 2002. - Reply to this comment
- ATTENTION!
In order to help Republicans elections to Congress and the White House in Nov-2008, Bush strategy is to provoke Iran into some confrontation with American Soldiers before Nov-2008. Navy Adm. William J. Fallon told Bush he wanted no part in that new war. - Reply to this comment
- pinkshoes, you and your kind are such sleazebags.
Posted by FloydZepp at 07:08 PM : Mar 12, 2008
FloyZepp,,,
What illegal substance have you been using? Fallon is just one more jihadidiot leftist brainwashed-by-demonRats-political-antiwar propaganda. - Reply to this comment
- Lastdance7,,,,
Always bashing our troops.
Always bashing the war widows calling them prostitutes.
Ladstdance7, Always blasting our commander in chief.
Lastdance7
Trip back to your fantasy land.
Lastdance7, Trip back to your Demoncrats Nazi party. - Reply to this comment
- AP) Top current advisers to Sen. John McCain''s presidential campaign last year lobbied for a European plane maker that beat Boeing to a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract, taking sides in a bidding fight that McCain has tried to referee for more than five years.
Two of the advisers gave up their lobbying work when they joined McCain''s campaign. A third, former Texas Rep. Tom Loeffler, lobbied for the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. while serving as McCain''s national finance chairman.
EADS is the parent company of Airbus, which teamed up with U.S.-based Northrop Grumman Corp. to win the lucrative aerial refueling contract on Feb. 29. Boeing Co. Chairman and CEO Jim McNerney said in a statement Monday that the Chicago-based aerospace company %u201Cfound serious flaws in the process that we believe warrant appeal.%u201D
McCain, the Republican presidential nominee in waiting, has been a key figure in the Pentagon''s yearslong attempt to complete a deal on the tanker. McCain helped block an earlier tanker contract with Boeing and prodded the Pentagon in 2006 to develop bidding procedures that did not exclude Airbus.
PERINO- ANYONE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE THAT SAYS ANYTHING IS LIEING,,WHAT A JOKE YOU ARE SOLD YOUR SOLE TO THE DEVIL HIMSELF, BUSH/CHENEY. TWINS AT BIRTH AND SEPERATED. - Reply to this comment
- God will bless Amrl. Fallon''s soul with peace. So many others have sold their soul for less. Bush is a monster/ the beast incognito.
- Reply to this comment
- [Gen. David Petraeus, who runs the Iraq war from Baghdad but is technically subordinate to Fallon, was known to have differences with Fallon over the timing and pace of drawing down U.S. troops from Iraq. Fallon has favored a faster pullback. Petraeus issued a statement lauding Fallon''s service. ]
well ... clearly this isn''t a difference. - Reply to this comment
- The draft is an interesting concept. Certainly the military should be a broader cross section of America. Currently it is a right wing "Christian" organization.
But the huge problem with it is that then Presidents like Bush and perhaps Clinton would have access to a huge amount of troops. I was Hillary that voted for Iran Resolution in September. And Fallon resigned because of saber rattleing of the Bush Admin against Iran. - Reply to this comment
- kesac4650,,,, This Bush State Dept, is as dysfunctional & incompetent as their Dept. of Homeland Security & it is much of the cause of 5 years of failures in Iraq.
- Reply to this comment
- The reason we are not at war with Iran is because we don''t have enough troops. If America really supported the troops, we would reinstate the draft so the government could get the necessary manpower to fight all the wars we need to fight.
If you really want to support the troops and fight the war on terror, write to congress and tell them to start drafting soldiers. Our military is stretched to the limit, and the disloyal youth refuse to volunteer to serve their country.
America cannot conquer the world unless we get serious about building a 10 million man army to get the job done. And forget about butter--we need guns and ammo! - Reply to this comment
- kesac4650,,,, He''s a 41 year active duty Admiral incharge of the entire War on Terror, he knows what he''s talking about & supported by many generals including SECDEF Gates on issues...... It was a political firing.
- Reply to this comment
- The guy went on international TV, and undercut the State Departments negotiations with Iran. That should be a termination offense.
This has nothing to do with Neo-Con, or Lib or other nonsense. The guy was wrong. - Reply to this comment
- YES, are u? Do you support our troops? How? Tangible support not just whiny on message boards.
Posted by JERSupporter at 03:12 PM : Mar 12, 2008
And this numbnut is judging... - Reply to this comment
Congratulations again to Admiral William J. Fallon, for standing against the neo-con terrorists'' plans for Iran.
He has demonstrated that honor and integrity may not yet be completely absent within the ranks of our military.
The various dissenting Generals could prove instrumental, if we are left with no other choice than to dislodge the criminal cabal by way of force.- Reply to this comment
