Ignatius/WaPo: A Centcom Chief Who Spoke His Mind

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A Centcom Chief Who Spoke His Mind

By David Ignatius
Thursday, March 13, 2008; A17

The first thing that many of Adm. William Fallon's colleagues note about him is that he's a Navy officer. By that, they mean he has the stubborn self-confidence, some would say arrogance, that is part of command at sea. He knows how to wear his dress whites and receive a snappy salute -- and he likes telling people off when he thinks they're wrong.

Those headstrong qualities were part of why Fallon was chosen to run Central Command, arguably the most important senior post in the U.S. military today.

And they explain why Fallon finally crashed and burned Tuesday, tendering his resignation after his blunt comments to an Esquire magazine writer had gotten him into one too many conflicts with the White House and the military brass.

Stories about Fallon's resignation focused mostly on his rejection of administration saber-rattling on Iran. "I expect that there will be no war, and that is what we ought to be working for," he told al-Jazeera last fall when war fever was high. But there's less of a gap between Fallon and the administration on Iran than those comments suggested. Top administration officials have made clear for months that they know there isn't a good U.S. military option against Iran.

Fallon's problems were less dramatic -- but they go to the heart of what America should want from its senior military leaders. After what many viewed as the overly deferential style of the two previous chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the White House decided to go for something different in a senior commander -- a guy with a mouth that could peel the paint off the walls.

I have traveled with Fallon several times since he became Centcom commander and have talked at length with him, so perhaps I can offer a glimpse into the flap over his premature retirement. Fallon's early friction was with Gen. David Petraeus, whom President Bush had trusted with the implementation of the U.S. troop surge in Iraq. Their turf war was ironic because Petraeus had supported Fallon for the job. But the new Centcom chief bristled at his nominal subordinate's close relationship with the White House, and it made for an awkward chain of command.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/12/AR2008031203395.html