Admiral William Fallon: Not A Chickensh** Kind Of Guy

It’s no secret that, although Bush claims to listen to his generals on the ground, they don’t last long if they don’t tell him and the neocons runnning things in DC what they want to hear, as I’ve chronicled here. Now comes a piece in the April Esquire Magazine, “The Man Between War and Peace“, that profiles Admiral William Fallon, head of United States Central Command, and General David Patraeus’s boss. Fallon had this to say to Al Jazeera last fall:

“This constant drumbeat of conflict . . . is not helpful and not useful. I expect that there will be no war, and that is what we ought to be working for. We ought to try to do our utmost to create different conditions.”

What America needs, Fallon says, is a “combination of strength and willingness to engage.”

“Fox” Fallon, as he is called, isn’t afraid to tell the Washington suits what they don’t want to hear, but we don’t have a president who enjoys a good exchange of differing points of view.

Just as Fallon took over Centcom last spring, the White House was putting itself on a war footing with Iran. Almost instantly, Fallon began to calmly push back against what he saw as an ill-advised action. Over the course of 2007, Fallon’s statements in the press grew increasingly dismissive of the possibility of war, creating serious friction with the White House.

Last December, when the National Intelligence Estimate downgraded the immediate nuclear threat from Iran, it seemed as if Fallon’s caution was justified. But still, well-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.

Think Progress has more, including video of White House flack Dana Perino who seems not to know much about any of this. Oh, and he never called General Patreaus “an ass-kissing little chickenshit,” and said the story is “absolute bullshit.”

Fallon says the tip-off that the story was bogus was the word chickenshit. “My kids called me up laughing about that one, saying they knew the story wasn’t true because I never use that word.”

So put Fallon down as a “bullshit” and not a “chickenshit” kind of guy.

And put his job on the endangered list.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.