Top Mideast Commander Resigns

The “Fox” is out of the chicken house. Or maybe we should say that the outspoken commander of Central Command, Adm. William “Fox” Fallon, is out of the Navy. Fallon has submitted his resignation and will retire from the U.S. Navy later this month.

As most readers of this column would know, Central Command oversees all of our military activities over a very broad stretch of geography, which includes Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet, many will not recognize the name Fallon when thinking of key commanders in Iraq or Afghanistan. Gen. David Petraeus, commander of all U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq, is the guy most visible in media reporting of the Iraq conflict.

While serving as the top U.S military leader in the Pacific, Fallon was highly regarded for his strategic vision for the future of this vast and increasingly important part of the globe. Yet, his trips to China to have informational and strategy discussions with senior Chinese military officials was sometimes viewed with skepticism by those not knowing for certain if he was engaged on his own or whether he was in sync with the Defense Department and White House policy gurus.

Fallon has spoken openly about the need to withdraw our troops from Iraq faster than his subordinate, Petraeus, has thus far recommended. It seems the troop withdrawal schedule, among other things, created some tension and friction between these two strong-willed four-stars. It also seems as though Petraeus, the subordinate, is the favorite in the Bush administration.

More recently, Fallon reportedly spoke publicly of downplaying any thought of military force against Iran, a nation also in his geographical sphere of responsibility. According to one report, he argued publicly against any implied threat of military force against this growing nuclear menace. This strikes me as wrong. Not that I see us striking Iran militarily anytime soon; it is just that, as a military officer or key elected official, you simply never take any option off the table while assessing a growing and viable threat to our security.

Fallon has done the right thing. He is apparently out of sync with the administration; he has issues with a subordinate who is very highly regarded; and he is outspoken about his strategic visions. He recognizes that perceptions of a split with his civilian leadership reduces his capacity to serve. And so he resigns.

As a career military officer, I always knew that our Constitution quite correctly placed those of us in uniform under the leadership and direction of elected and appointed officials of our federal government. This is as should be. When our conscience leads us away from the policies of these leaders, resignation is always an option.