O’Hanlon: Petraeus’s ’success’ may have outshone Fallon.
Asked about Adm. William Fallon’s resignation today as Centcom commander, Brookings analyst Michael O’Hanlon initially replied, “I can’t clearly see what the reason would be for why he resigned.” O’Hanlon then, however, put forth the possibility that the “success” his good buddy Gen. David Petraeus has had in Iraq may have “overshadow[ed]” Fallon’s “ability to be effective in the job.”
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“Asked today about…”
Why are people asking this idiot about ANYTHING!? He was wrong about EVERYTHING!!!
ugh
March 11th, 2008 at 6:18 pmAgreed ugh….
March 11th, 2008 at 6:19 pm“Asked today about…â€
My kids Ant Farm ants arrived today. Maybe we should ask them (the ants) what they think?
March 11th, 2008 at 6:20 pmWhy are people asking this idiot about ANYTHING!?
Comment by hil_1 — March 11, 2008 @ 6:18 pm
Ssame reason we ask the trolls about stuff. Just because their struggles to answer are so amusing.
March 11th, 2008 at 6:21 pmMy kids Ant Farm ants arrived today. Maybe we should ask them (the ants) what they think?
Comment by DieNowForPeace — March 11, 2008 @ 6:20 pm
If they walk left, it’s Yes. If they walk right, they’re probably going to be killed by terrorists.
March 11th, 2008 at 6:23 pmMore likely it was Fallon said a few things that Dubya didn’t like, and was told that his career has lost a few possible advancement pathways….
Cheers,
March 11th, 2008 at 6:34 pmI heard that, thanks to betrayus and the surge, things are SO GOOD in Baghdad, you can see the sewage from space!! Now, that’s a shining success for sure, right Mr. Golly & co.!!!
don’t look for satellite images of Baghdad after dark though, because they still don’t have full-time electricity like they did before we delivered the freedom.
March 11th, 2008 at 6:44 pmI don’t know about the rest of you, but I am getting sick of seeing fully armed and armored US soldiers kicking in Iraqi doors while hearing from the White House how “good things are in Iraq since the surge.” If things are going so well, can we see the video footage of things going well? Or ANY real proof (other than Hannity’s word) that the surge has made any difference.
March 11th, 2008 at 6:49 pmI don’t know about the rest of you, but I am getting sick of seeing fully armed and armored US soldiers kicking in Iraqi doors while hearing from the White House how “good things are in Iraq since the surge.†If things are going so well, can we see the video footage of things going well? Or ANY real proof (other than Hannity’s word) that the surge has made any difference.
Comment by Above the Clouds
We now have our own West Bank
March 11th, 2008 at 6:51 pmO’Hanlon is hitting the Irish ale too soon — he makes these inane comments and he obviously doesn’t have a clue, but he does have an opinion.
March 11th, 2008 at 6:59 pmWhy anyone asks him anything or listens to him - is beyond me.
Our own West Bank where we have to pay maintenance money to thugs to create the appearance of progress.
weak - to call the whole thing a miserable failure would be a gross overestimation.
March 11th, 2008 at 7:00 pmIraqi Refugees See No Reason, or Hope, For Return
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/03/7421/
March 11th, 2008 at 7:07 pm>before we delivered freedom.
high quality, depeleted uranium freedom, nonetheless
iraqi refugee crisis worsening..
http://news.yahoo.com/ s/ afp/ 20080311/ wl_mideast_afp/ usiraqrefugees_080311214451;_ylt=AuHps095CCezIt4t8cp25GoUewgF
March 11th, 2008 at 7:08 pmThe Iraqi government is operating at a surplus these days — isn’t that nice?
March 11th, 2008 at 7:08 pmWe, the occupying force, are supplying and paying for everything — American taxpayers.
Para-quote: “…the possibility that the “success†his good buddy Gen. David Petraeus has had in Iraq may have overshadowed Fallon’s “ability to be effective in the job.â€
Given that Fallon is an Admiral and Iraq has a 15-mile coastline that marks the end of waters mostly controlled by Iran and Saudi Arabia, I;m pretty sure Fallon’s job, as imagined by the Bush adminsitration, was to act quite literally like afish out of water.
Unfortunately Fallon has proven to be not so much a fish as an amphibian–adaptable and evolved with a keen sense for the prservation of his species rather than himself alone.
I recall someone, somewhere ( TP or C&: or some such smart blog) predicting perhaps a month ago his likely removal from command.
Imagine my yawn that this prediction has now come true!
Fallon was pretty low-profile, except when it came to talk of attacking Iran, when he was all like “No WAY” and “As If” and “that’s sooo retarded” and such. So now he’s NPLU fer sher and totally banished we can all look forward to having a wicked party in Iran. Yay!
March 11th, 2008 at 7:11 pmLet me change that my prediction on the previous thread: Petraeus is heading to CentCom.
March 11th, 2008 at 7:12 pmWhy is this clown labeled a “war critic from the liberal-leaning Brookings Institute?”
March 11th, 2008 at 7:14 pmHe’s anything but liberal and anything but a war critic.
Hanlon once again shows abysmal knowledge of the military. Good commanders, and Fallon is an exceptionally good one, want their subordinates to succeed. If anything, it makes them look good.
March 11th, 2008 at 7:14 pmWho hired O’Hanlon? Who is he related to.
March 11th, 2008 at 7:50 pm#17 robbez_92107:
Why is this clown labeled a “war critic from the liberal-leaning Brookings Institute?â€
He’s anything but liberal and anything but a war critic.
Because they like to lie about that kind of crap to pretend that the viewpoint is somehow mainstream or bipartisan. Glenn Greenwald has exploded the myth of O’Hanlon’s criticism of the war and his “liberal-leaning affiliations” (here and here and here … well, you get the idea….)
Cheers,
March 11th, 2008 at 8:43 pmDon’t know who O’Hanlon is and don’t care. The truth is Fallon was fired because McSame has pledged to attack Iran and Fallon was in the way. Could somebody please ask the candidates about this? Oh, I doubt it.
March 11th, 2008 at 8:54 pmHe’s anything but liberal and anything but a war critic.
Comment by robbez_92107 — March 11, 2008 @ 7:14 pm
he’s not much of anything and wrong on just about everything - along with kristol and bolton - why do these people get paid at all? - it is mystifying.
March 11th, 2008 at 8:58 pmHe’s anything but liberal and anything but a war critic.
Comment by robbez_92107 — March 11, 2008 @ 7:14 pm
Not to mention anything but an expert, a consultant, or a journalist…
March 11th, 2008 at 9:14 pmSorry liberals, but the man is absolutely correct. Petraeus was 25% effective and this outshone Fallon.
At least, that’s the way I take it.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:28 pmMy favorite blog topic, for which I broke sabbatical today in my usual gratuitous vulgarity. Good luck my friends.
March 12th, 2008 at 1:23 amFallon is an impressive leader. Folks of Ilk try to work within an environment like that of the Bush Organized Crime Family but sooner find out that they are working for liars, thieves and torture friendly fascists. Fallon has more sense, courage, and knowledge on the tip of his little finger than Bush could ever hope to have. The reason Fallon resigned was self-respect and the fact I hope, that he will speak the gospel of truth about the shit that Bush and Cheney are going to try to pull in regard to Iran. The alleged surge O’hanlan is giving Betrayus credit for is like a thumb in the dike, you absolutely cannot keep the thumb in forever. As it is 8 of our troops died in the last two days. O’Hanlon, why don’t you gather up your courage and go and tell the families of these troops how the surge worked. Fallon called Betrayus a kiss and a chickenshit and that’s the only reason Betrayus is still on board.
March 12th, 2008 at 12:50 pmWhat Fallon has said, and I paraphrase, was to the effect that in his job a senior military diplomat in the region, he was trying to assuage the fears of Arab nations, all fearing that a conflagration would come from an attack on Iran. Eqypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Jordan were particularly troubled by the possibility. What Bush cannot seem to abide is anyone who disagrees with him, even in this case, it would have accomplished the immediate problem of lowering the diplomatic temperature in the Middle East, whether the Bush/Cheney attack goes forward or not. As to his personal capabilities and relationship of an Admiral to the military situation in the Mid-East, people who know him thought him extremely intelligent, talented, and an outstanding diplomat. At his level, not being an infantry general made no difference at all. Remember, he had Gen P. there on the ground, now didn’t he?
March 12th, 2008 at 12:53 pm