Somebody Shut Michael O'HANLON The Hell Up (Part 3,524)

Really, this guy just gets worse and worse by the fucking day.

Michael O'Hanlon comments on the departure of Admiral William Fallon from US Central Command:

"I can't clearly see what the reason would be for why he resigned," said O'Hanlon who is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.

"Obviously, he said a couple of things that maybe were a little off-key from what the administration was otherwise saying -- the implication that we shouldn't be threatening for against Iran, for example," AFP quoted him as saying.

O'Hanlon claimed that the reason the 63-year-old resigned may have been that he simply 'lost heart' out of sheer exhaustion.

"Although Fallon oversees the Middle East region, the success that General Petraeus has had in Iraq may overshadow his ability to be effective in the job," explained the military expert.

You can't see why? The MAN WAS FIRED, you ignorant jackass. O'Hanlon gets paid to think for a living and he can't recognize when a man gets fired? Jeebus.

So it's not okay to say "General Betray-us" but it's totally kosher to say that a man who's served his country for 42 years, served in three 4-star billets, and performed 1,300 carrier arrested landings in an aircraft is somehow a coward who has lost heart? You know, Fallon saw combat in Vietnam. He was skillful enough NOT to get shot down and captured. Doesn't that make him MORE qualified to be President than McCain? I mean, if we're going to start going after people, why not go there?

What the FUCK? How is this even permitted? How is it that O'Hanlon isn't being laughed out of the building every time he utters something this ridiculous?

When someone loses their heart to carry on in the military, they drop their retirement papers and leave. It ain't hard. Once you roll over the point where you're permitted to retire, you work til it's time. Granted, Fallon was an older guy--but does he look like someone who's bloated, out of shape and tired? I guarantee you--the guy in the picture above probably runs his office on full tilt and probably runs his staff ragged because he, himself runs himself ragged. That's what a goddamned Admiral does, and you don't get to hold three 4-star billets by being a golf-playing layabout who takes a lot of unscheduled four day weekends.

Unbelieveable. Wingnuts and neocons just spew shit and the media laps it up. Of course it's okay to go after Fallon--he stood in the way of their next chance at glory, a war with Iran.

The second Petraeus says something to derail war with Iran, and don't hold your breath that he will suddenly discover his conscience, he will suddenly be "tired and worn out" just like Admiral Fallon.

UPDATE I - PALE RIDER

I was mad when I wrote this--title said "O'Fallon" when it should have said O'Hanlon.

My Bad! Thanks to ckelly

Admiral Fallon Quits - Another thing we didn't need

BREAKING NEWS: U.S. Central Command leader Adm. William Fallon to step down

WASHINGTON - Adm. William Fallon is stepping down as head of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees military matters in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Tuesday.

Gates said Fallon took the decision because of recent statements attributed to him that Fallon felt had created a misperception about his goals and those of President Bush.

Gates said Fallon had asked Gates for permission to retire and that Gates agreed.

Fallon was the subject of an article published last week in Esquire magazine that portrayed him as opposed to Bush’s Iran policy. It described Fallon as a lone voice against taking military action to stop the Iranian nuclear program.

“I think this is a cumulative kind of thing,” Gates said in response to a question about that. “It isn’t the result of any one article or any one issue.”

Gates described as “ridiculous” any notion that Fallon’s departure signals the United States is planning to go to war with Iran.

“As I say, the notion that this decision portends anything in terms of change in Iran policy is, to quote myself, ’ridiculous,’ “ he said.

Fallon has had a 41-year Navy career. He took the Central Command post on March 16, 2007, succeeding Army Gen. John Abizaid, who retired. Fallon previously served as commander of U.S. Pacific Command.

More to follow...

UPDATE I - by Blue Girl - 3:15 cdt

Screw the plaudits and phony warmth. The admiral is leaving because of policy differences between Fallon and the administration. But the differences aren't just about Iran, or even Iraq, where he has been outspoken about opposing the "Surge™ and about setting schedules for troop withdrawals.

Insiders say the death knell was sounded by the recent publication of an article in Esquire magazine, The Man Between War and Peace, which highlighted comments made by Fallon in an Al Jazeera interview last fall in which he was disdainful of the constant drumbeat for war with Iran.

Now, get out your tinfoil hats. I think there is a whole 'nuther level. They disagree strongly about the man-god Petraeus of the rank of General. Remember that Fallon ruffled quite a few (yellow) feathers when he referred to the American commander in Iraq as an "ass-kissing little chickenshit" and didn't even get around to a feigned denial that he said it for six months.

Petraeus is due back in Washington this month to appear before Congress, and he wants to halt drawdowns. Fallon opposed the surge, predicted what would happen, and wanted drawdowns. And just in time, violence and casualties are ticking up. What a coinky-dink.

UPDATE II - PALE RIDER

Right now, it's all about where the Aircraft Carriers are and where they are going. THAT'S the key to any operation in the Persian Gulf. Forget the position of the US Army in Iraq--those forces are dispersed and tied down. Forget the idea that we can accomplish anything by air alone in Iran--that's fallacy. Forget the idea that Iran won't immediately lock itself down and survive anything we throw at it--when the first bomb hits, we will have legitimized the Islamic state and the fundamentalist control of that nation for the next fifty years. We will ensure that the wayward sons of today's Mullahs become the clerics in charge long after I'm gone.

It ain't about oil. I will tell you that much. It's got nothing to do with oil at all. It's all about Israel. Sorry to break it to you, but we're not running out of oil. We're seeing a vast shakedown in play--the last gasp of conservative/neocon greed is going to gather up as many fallen acorns and stock them away, because they know they won't get this chance until President Pierce Bush is sworn in.

Bush Planning to Fire CENTCOM Chief?

Think Progress has an excellent piece on the possibility that Admiral William Fallon may be gone soon. Thomas P.M. Barnett indicates in a magazine article for Esquire that he might be out at CENTCOM as soon as this summer:

[W]ell-placed observers now say that it will come as no surprise if Fallon is relieved of his command before his time is up next spring, maybe as early as this summer, in favor of a commander the White House considers to be more pliable. If that were to happen, it may well mean that the president and vice-president intend to take military action against Iran before the end of this year and don’t want a commander standing in their way.

The article goes on to say that Fallon now denies calling General Petraeus an "ass-kissing little chickenshit."

Is that an attempt to hang on to his job? The only thing standing between the Bush Administration and war with Iran is a thin line of leaders, personified by Fallon at CENTCOM. Is getting rid of Fallon an attempt to start a conflict with Iran that has the intention of securing some kind of legacy for the Bush Administration?

The legacy is too shameful to rehabilitate--and no amount of firing people can save it. Especially when they try to fire the wrong people.