The Fall Of An Admiral

When you read the whole thing, read what he has said publically ... well it makes me wonder. Not why he was asked to leave, or why he decided to resign ... makes me wonder why he lasted as long as he did. Dissent in the board room is great and healthy ... on the street it's wrong and dangerous.

The differences between Fallon and the administration were real, not the result of any misperception. It is well established that Fallon worked to undermine the "surge" in Iraq by pushing for faster troop reductions than the commander on the ground in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, thought prudent. He attempted to banish the phrase "the Long War" because, according to Barnett, it "signaled a long haul that Fallon simply finds unacceptable."
Regarding Iran, Fallon undercut the cornerstone of the Bush administration's Iran policy of keeping all options-including the use of military force-open, in order to pressure Iran to forgo its nuclear ambitions. This makes diplomatic sense. As Frederick the Great once observed, diplomacy without force is like music without instruments.