Iran and the US: Where Adm. Fallon Went Wrong

-
Admiral Fallon, the top US commander in the Middle East resigned.
It’s good that he resigned and what he said could only hurt US national interests and the cause of peace.
His statements that challenged the President are improper. He is a soldier and soldiers follow orders. In a democracy the civilian officials make foreign policy decisions and war decisions. Not the men in uniform no matter how high ranking they are.
Esquire writing that he is “brazenly challenging his commander in chief” regarding a possible war with Iran is just plain constitutionally wrong. Again because he is a soldier and Mr. Bush is his commander in chief and soldiers do not brazenly challenge” their commander in chief- not publicly, at least
Gen. Fallon does not want the US involved in more wars. This is a good mindset for soldiers. But Iran is an aspiring regional power that stands accused of supporting the enemies of the US- financially and otherwise. Mixed messages can only embolden this adversary. Adm. Fallon stating that war with Iran is “strategically unsound” and his playing down the possibility of an American strike on Iran and characterizing a possible attack as “a mistake” can only embolden the Iranians to take more risk in dealing with the US. This emboldening makes armed conflict much more probable, if not necessary.
An Iran that is not afraid of a possible American attack is an Iran that makes an attack inevitable.
President Bush handled the situation with dignity in thanking Adm. Fallon for serving his country “with honor, determination and commitment.”

Comments

James said…
I enjoyed reading some of your blog, its nice to have some insight into the middle eastern world. However, I must point out America is a Republic, in which we elect representatives to make the decisions. Civilians have no say in any act of government, they can only elect some one who they believe will do what they want.
March 12, 2008 at 10:34 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Response to Amer Zahr’s Sexual Harassment Column

-
Image
Rana Abbas, former ACRL executive director Amer Zahr, Rana Abbas's BFF Response to Amer Zahr’s Sexual Harassment Column The Imad Hamad saga has attracted a motley crew of individuals who joined in for two reasons: 1. To say, without any legal basis for personal knowledge, that the allegations are “true” for a variety of reasons.  2. To say that we basically need no investigation and that Imad should be fired because these two women have made these allegations. Allegation is the key word. Let’s look at the bright side of this sordid affair. Who knew that everyone in our community is a solid supporter of women’s rights? This is great! It really is. However, by God, people will prove it by piling on Imad Hamad before receiving all the facts. Let me make one thing clear. I am not stating these women were not harassed; nor am I stating they were. No one, other than Imad and the women, was in the room when the alleged harassment occurred.  No third party ...
Read more

The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

-
The Lebanese secular al Safeer newspaper. The Lebanese leftist/ secular/communist Al Akhbar Both called the individual who attacked the Jewish religious school in Jerusalem a “shaheed” or martyr. When Arab seculars and communists, in addition to Islamists, call this person a martyr, it is further proof that the conflict is, not surprisingly, a political conflict between Jewish nationalism and Palestinian nationalism- not a religious conflict. Neither party in this conflict is respecting international law. It's a fact regardless of who has the big guns- and it's Israel who has the big guns here. Noncombatants continue to suffer.
Read more

The Lessons of the Wissam Allouche case: About lies, not terrorism

-
Image
Wissam Allouche arrested by the JTTF Flag of the Lebanese Shia Amal Movement The Lessons of the Wissam Allouche case: An American Lebanese Shiite Muslim caught in the government and media dog- and- pony show Wissam Allouche, a Lebanese Shia immigrant from Lebanon was sentenced to five years in prison for lying on his citizenship application and for lying to get a security clearance from the Department of Defense. The US government had asked for a ten- year sentence. Allouche’s criminal case began in 2013 and he was tried and convicted in 2015 in the Western District of Texas district court.  After conviction, the US Attorney for the Western district of Texas issued a press release that read in part: “Jurors found that defendant lied about his previous association with the Amal militia This afternoon in San Antonio, a federal jury convicted 45–year-old Lebanese–born Wissam “Sam” Allouche of knowingly lying to federal authorities on his U.S. citizenship p...
Read more