Fallon ‘was not brave enough.’
By on Mar 13th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Fallon ‘was not brave enough.’
So says armchair general Michael O’Hanlon. In an interview with Iranian Press TV, O’Hanlon said, “I can’t clearly see what the reason would be for why he resigned.” Maybe the former CentCom chief simply “lost heart” out of sheer exhaustion, explained O’Hanlon.
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’s hard work… keeping those crazy neoCONs at bay…
i’m sure it was exhausting…
March 13th, 2008 at 11:36 amor maybe he didnt want to be part of the reich-wing aiding al-cia-duh in americas downfall with another illegal attack….
hmm….
March 13th, 2008 at 11:36 amplease stop giving o’hanlon (or kristol, or hannity, or limbaugh, or beck) exposure… reinforcement, positive or negative, is still reinforcement… there are a lot more important things you could be using this space for…
And, yes, I DO take it personally
March 13th, 2008 at 11:38 amSend O’Hanlon to Iraq. Pronto.
Idiot.
March 13th, 2008 at 11:38 amMichael O’Hanlon is so desperate for a genuine Jeff Gannon White House press pass. Go Michael! Just suck a little harder! You’ll get it soon… soon… almost!…
March 13th, 2008 at 11:39 amWTF is he talking to the Iranian press for?
I, for one, will not have Eraserhead speaking for Americans!
O’Hanlon = Bubble Boy lapdog
March 13th, 2008 at 11:41 amWhy do people still listen to O’Hanlon?
March 13th, 2008 at 11:41 amO’Hanlon said, “I can’t clearly see what the reason would be for why he resigned.â€
“there are none so blind as those who will not see”
March 13th, 2008 at 11:41 am“how CAN I see with my head up Bush’s a**?”
“eyes wide shut”
“nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, you can’t see me!”
“you want to know why I’m looking for my lost keys under this street lamp? the light’s better”
“I can’t see clearly now, my brain is gone”
He went to PressTv? Is he insane? What kind of man is this to speaking for the American people. I hope the Iranians understand that this guy speaks for maybe 2% of the population.
March 13th, 2008 at 11:43 amHas the heroic Mr. O’Hanlon marched himself down to the recruiter’s yet?
Signed, An Old Veteran
March 13th, 2008 at 11:45 amMilitary expert? Give me an f’n break.
O’Hanlon’s military expertise may exceed Bush’s, but it pales in comparison to Fallon’s.
McCain / McHanlon – ‘08!
March 13th, 2008 at 11:48 amNot brave enough to blow a few thousand icky, yet innocent, brown people off the face of the earth. Priceless.
As we are now the rogue nation…how long before someone bombs US? And at that point, we have to ask ourselves, what did our government do to deserve it…what did they do to ensure that WE are killed, maimed, starving, homeless, etc., ad nauseum.
The EU is considering sanctions against us for not signing on to Kyoto. What other sanctions are in our future?
Yes, we do indeed reap what we sow. Alas, it is the people who will be reaped (or is that raped?) and it is the people who will suffer.
March 13th, 2008 at 11:48 amOr maybe he could not, in good conscience, continue to work for an insane Commander in Chief.
March 13th, 2008 at 11:50 amMaybe he was ashamed to be associated with War Criminals like Deserter Bush, Five Deferments Dick and had had enough of their crimes and corruption.
O’Handjob you don’t know jack sh!t.
Buck Hussein Fush
March 13th, 2008 at 11:51 amthere are a lot more important things you could be using this space for…
Like Hillary Rove Clinton being hell-bent on making sure that Obama is not our next President, even if it means that McCain is.
March 13th, 2008 at 11:51 amGreat to see TP using pressTv from Iran
There a great source of news much better than our own news
March 13th, 2008 at 11:52 amI’d pay to watch Admiral Fallon debate the bad hair dude one on one. I bet the bad hair dude couldn’t walk standing up straight for at least a week. Oh yeah, he already can’t.
March 13th, 2008 at 11:56 amI like how some are more outraged that TP would dare to report from Iranian Press TV rather than be outraged one of their precious neo-cons allowed himself to be interviewed by the same Iranian Press TV….
March 13th, 2008 at 11:58 amAnd at that point, we have to ask ourselves, what did our government do to deserve it…
Comment by Ms_Joanne
Is that a joke?
March 13th, 2008 at 12:00 pmWTF is he talking to the Iranian press for?
Comment by Zimzone — March 13, 2008 @ 11:41 am
He’s not talking to the Iranian press – he released a statement that was picked up by the Iranian press. That’s not the same as giving an interview.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:00 pmraynman:
They’re upset because the corporate news in this country is sooo trustworthy. Despite the fact that it’s a liberal press. Only it’s not.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:02 pmGreat to see TP using pressTv from Iran
There a great source of news much better than our own news
Comment by Tobie Tall
You have to hand it to Tobie. He/she is trying to be embarassing. Good work!
March 13th, 2008 at 12:02 pmThe media has really veered off into some foggy meta reality. They work for corporations which are run by balding middle-aged white conservative men. It’s a huge conflict of interest no one ever seems to address.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:03 pm‘Fallon was not brave enough’
This was put in quotes and the implication was that O’Hanlon said these words.
But in the link, that quote is not found. (but instead this: “lost heart†)
What did O’Hanlon say?
If he said Fallon’s not brave enough, why not show it in context?
March 13th, 2008 at 12:03 pmAt least he had the strength of his convictions that BushitCo is batshit crazy, and didn’t want HIS legacy to be any more tainted by involvement in the attack on Iran.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:05 pmDespite the fact that it’s a liberal press. Only it’s not.
A liberal press wouldn’t have found Spitzer’s hooker in one day and not yet found Osama, WMD, or the missing emails.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:05 pm#3, prof marcus is right. O’Hanlon is an idiot, and our posting on these threads just encourages TP to give him more play.
Ignore and mayhaps the next O’Hanlon thread will get four posts, all by trolls and TP will get the message that his opinions are worth half a handful of Oklahoma dust.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:07 pmMaybe the former CentCom chief simply “lost heart†out of sheer exhaustion, explained O’Hanlon.
Hardly-
One of Fallon’s first moves upon taking command of CENTCOM was to order his subordinates to avoid the term “long war” — a phrase Bush and Secretary Gates had used to describe the fight against terrorism.
Fallon was signaling his unhappiness with the policy of U.S. occupation of Iraq for an indeterminate period. Military sources explained that Fallon was concerned that the concept of a long war would alienate Middle East citizenry by suggesting that U.S. troops would remain in the region indefinitely.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39235
Fallon acquired a reputation for a willingness to stand up to powerful figures during his tenure as commander in chief of the Pacific Command from February 2005 to March 2007.
A crucial element of Petraeus’s path of advancement in the Army, on the other hand, was through serving as an aide to senior generals.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:07 pmO’Hanlon said, “I can’t clearly see what the reason would be for why he resigned.â€
“But I’m going to tell you why anyway.”
Seems right for a neocon apologist. Clear thinking always screws up the plan, anyway.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:22 pmI posted this on another thread, but since this is a Fallon thread, it applies…plus I have an update to the “timeline”:
A disturbing trend of events if thought of in terms of a long row of dominoes being knocked over to head towards its inevitable conclusion:
NIE released saying Iranians stopped nuke program in 2003…
March 13th, 2008 at 12:23 pmPolls show vast majority of Americans want Iraq War to end…
White House and Congressional Republicans disavow NIE, call it “foolishâ€â€¦
White House attempts to circumvent Congress by signing agreements to keep US forces in Iraq beyond UN mandate…
CENTCOM Chief Fallon criticizes Administration saber-rattling against Iran, resists push to war…
Pentagon tests “heat ray weapon†on subjects dressed up to look like protesters…
CENTCOM Chief Fallon suddenly resigns…
Report surfaces from Pentagon debunking any theories of an Al-Qaeda/Saddam connection…
Report will not be released…
Report surfaces that the NSA is spying on American citizens in a nightmarishly Orwellian manner…
British police chief who “led an investigation into charges that Britain cooperated with secret CIA flights to transport terrorism suspects without formal proceedings” (i.e. bringing more scrutiny to extraordinary rendition) has been found dead…
How about anyone that listens to Iranian Press TV and thinks that this guy really is an expert at anything?
No wonder the rest of the world thinks what it does about us.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:23 pmO’Hanlon seems young enough. Why is he not over there taking IEDs in the chest for PNA… — ummm, sorry, Amur’kah….
Cheers,
March 13th, 2008 at 12:24 pmO’Handjob, another Bush reach around consultant without an ounce of integrity.
Yawn…..what’s new?
-GSD
March 13th, 2008 at 12:24 pmBut in the link, that quote is not found. (but instead this: “lost heart†)
What did O’Hanlon say?
If he said Fallon’s not brave enough, why not show it in context?
Comment by backup — March 13, 2008 @ 12:03 pm
——-
Yeah this is actually starting to annoy me about TP…
I can’t tell if they’re punching up the substance, or exaggerating some of these posts.
Mods please… CONTEXT. We need it. It sustains us. Lack of context just gives the right wing hacks a hard-on. It allows them to point out the ‘lies’ on ‘liberal hate sites’ like TP.
Thanks,
March 13th, 2008 at 12:25 pmDee
RUC, I don’t really think TP’s coverage of idiots like O’Hanlon is the reason they get their voices heard.
They get their voices heard because they say what some people want to hear.
TP ignoring them isn’t going to marginalize them or take away their media access. All it will do is let them spout their ignorant delusional crap in a bunkered echo chamber, away from the disinfectant of sunlight.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:25 pmSorry, left out some caveats:
I posted this on another thread, but since this is a Fallon thread, it applies…plus I have an update to the “timelineâ€:
A disturbing trend of events if thought of in terms of a long row of dominoes being knocked over to head towards its inevitable conclusion (I don’t have exact dates for all this shit, so some of it may be out of sequence. Any misleading connections/progressions are unintentional, please correct me on the order of these events if you see and error):
NIE released saying Iranians stopped nuke program in 2003…
March 13th, 2008 at 12:26 pmPolls show vast majority of Americans want Iraq War to end…
White House and Congressional Republicans disavow NIE, call it “foolishâ€â€¦
White House attempts to circumvent Congress by signing agreements to keep US forces in Iraq beyond UN mandate…
CENTCOM Chief Fallon criticizes Administration saber-rattling against Iran, resists push to war…
Pentagon tests “heat ray weapon†on subjects dressed up to look like protesters…
CENTCOM Chief Fallon suddenly resigns…
Report surfaces from Pentagon debunking any theories of an Al-Qaeda/Saddam connection…
Report will not be released…
Report surfaces that the NSA has revived the TIA (total information awareness program) that was banned by congress in 2003 as it involves spying on American citizens in a nightmarishly Orwellian manner…
British police chief who “led an investigation into charges that Britain cooperated with secret CIA flights to transport terrorism suspects without formal proceedings†(i.e. bringing more scrutiny to extraordinary rendition) has been found dead…
Just checked the link, nowhere did it say ‘was not brave enough’.
C’mon… raise the bar
March 13th, 2008 at 12:27 pm‘Fallon was not brave enough’
This was put in quotes and the implication was that O’Hanlon said these words.
But in the link, that quote is not found. (but instead this: “lost heart†)
Comment by backup — March 13, 2008 @ 12:03 pm
That’s a fair point, and TP is often guilty of pushing the limits of interpretation in the way they present stories, a habit I wish they’d curb. But in this case, the fault is not TP’s but the originating publication. “Not brave enough” is the headline on the linked page.
TP quoted the article fairly.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:29 pmUnfortunately, now we have a greater chance of going to war against Iran if the Congress doesn’t stand up to w. If we are at war, many people are going to say we need a CinC who actually was in the military. Of course, that means that st. john will get the nod, not just from his base of reporters and pundits, but many of the citizens of our country. This will give him his opportunity to “bomb, bomb, Iran.” I expect that one day blackwater mercenaries will have to protect the WH and maintain the power of the “President.”
March 13th, 2008 at 12:29 pm“Not brave enough”…please correct this TP.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:29 pm“British police chief who “led an investigation into charges that Britain cooperated with secret CIA flights to transport terrorism suspects without formal proceedings†(i.e. bringing more scrutiny to extraordinary rendition) has been found dead”
dead at the bottom of a cliff, no less.. but hey, he was nice enough to leave a suicide note on his body…seems odd, you;d think he would want to leave it someplace safe like back at his house, where it wouldnt get bloodied by the fall or torn up by animals knawing on the body..
March 13th, 2008 at 12:31 pmmove along, nothing to see here…
That smarmy little punk must have a deep-seated desire to have the sh*t beat out of him by an older man in uniform.
Sick, kinky, backbiting Righties.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:47 pmThat smarmy little punk must have a deep-seated desire to have the sh*t beat out of him by an older man in uniform.
Sick, kinky, backbiting Righties.
Comment by tombaker — March 13, 2008 @ 12:47 pm
I suggest a parallel to consider:
These were Ferrero’s resent comments about Obama:
Ferraro told the Daily Breeze of Torrance, Calif.: ”If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.”
Now, imagine a post with the headline (implied as attributted to Ferrero): ‘Obama not qualified, because he’s a black man’.
Then painting (with a broad brush) that all ‘lefties’ are racists, by association, to a quote that Ferrero didn’t really make.
March 13th, 2008 at 1:01 pmHey, PressTV published another article. It’s fabulous! http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=47278§ionid=3510303 Check it out!!! It exposes the Bushite reality of the Admiral’s resignation;-)
March 13th, 2008 at 1:05 pmnice, backup – did you have a point to go along with that? I fail to see any kind of parallel.
March 13th, 2008 at 1:08 pmThe parallel is the magnificence of PressTV
March 13th, 2008 at 1:16 pmNow, imagine a post with the headline (implied as attributted to Ferrero): ‘Obama not qualified, because he’s a black man’.
Comment by backup — March 13, 2008 @ 1:01 pm
Yeah, that would be bad. And dishonest. But you do recognize, don’t you, that “not brave enough” comes not from TP, but from the headline on the web page to which TP links, don’t you?
The issue you have is with Iranian Press TV, not ThinkProgress.
March 13th, 2008 at 1:24 pmThe issue you have is with Iranian Press TV, not ThinkProgress.
Comment by ralph the wonder llama — March 13, 2008 @ 1:24 pm
If you repeat a lie, as if it is the truth, you don’t take any responsibility for it?
I guess with that logic, you’d be willing to cut Bush some slack for these sixteen words:
“The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa .â€
March 13th, 2008 at 1:40 pmIsn’t there some other political hack that can be turned to? O’Hanlon has pretty much worn out any lingering credibility a long time ago.
There’s such a small number of PR cheerleaders working on behalf of this war’s propaganda effort that the characters seem to be recycled through the TV infotainment circuit on an almost daily basis.
Perhaps they should be put on the endangered species list?
March 13th, 2008 at 2:00 pmIf you repeat a lie, as if it is the truth, you don’t take any responsibility for it?
I guess with that logic, you’d be willing to cut Bush some slack for these sixteen words:
“The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa .â€
Comment by backup — March 13, 2008 @ 1:40 pm
The headline on the PressTV site was in quotes, so my guess was that the interview contained those words, and the article posted was an encapsulation of a longer interview.
I don’t know this, but neither do I know that it is a “lie”.
Your tortured logic notwithstanding, I cut Bush no slack for those 16 words because he had been told by his own intelligence agencies that the information was suspect, and he used the dodge of “British intelligence” to achieve an effect dishonestly.
Since you take such umbrage with TP for this instance, and you use Bush’s 16 words to illustrate your point, I can only assume that you have similar misgivings about the president’s cynical misuse of the uranium from Niger story, and recognize that Joe and Valerie Wilson were unfairly smeared by the administration?
March 13th, 2008 at 2:37 pmBush is responsible for passing the British intelligence to the American public and implying it as the truth.
Thinkprogress is responsible for passing along accurately what O’Hanlon really said.
Everyone makes mistakes. Happens to me all the time. But I assume the misrepresentation was unintended and I suggest TP correct the record.
What we are debating is whether we are going to enable TP to be just another detractor of the Bush administration or whether we will encourage them to be a credible detractor of the Bush administration.
March 13th, 2008 at 2:53 pmPoint one: Bush didn’t just “pass British intelligence to the American public”. He passed along intelligence that his own people wouldn’t support, and the reason he attributed it to the British was that it was the only way he could shoehorn it into the speech.
You say that the headline is a lie. You may be right, but it’s based on an assumption of the full content of the interview, which neither of has access to at the moment.
I will say that, after doing some research, the statements attributed to O’Hanlon in the article have been widely reported in the Christian Science Monitor, for instance, and nowhere is there a quote that could support the headline.
It looks like you’re right, that this news outlet took liberties with its headline and TP has picked it up and run with it.
If so, TP should take down this headline.
O’Hanlon says enough stupid things for real that we don’t need to manufacture any false ones, and generate sympathy for him.
March 13th, 2008 at 3:35 pm