Cross-posted from www.whatsrequiredky.com. This site goes dormant tomorrow.
Not Kentucky news, but I’ll apply my local spin machine by saying that Kentuckians enlist in the armed forces at a rate higher than any other state. Even Texas.
So Admiral William Fallon, who was C-in-C of Central Command (Read: Petraeus’ Boss) being let go (He retired. Right) right now, in the face of his opposition of war with Iran, does not bid well for a peaceful solution to our myriad conflicts with that nation. Details/Update later.
Update: So here’s why this is all important:
The Bush Administration, as we all know, prefers to take the frosty approach with Iran. Wether or not we actually are on the precipice of going to war with Iran at any given time, the foreign policy tack they have chosen to pursue requires that Iran be under that impression. Fallon, who thanks to an Esquire magazine article, very publicly opposes war with Iran, stands in the way of not just preparations, but even the illusion of them. Frankly, he was getting in the way of the administration, and I imagine he decided to simply walk away rather than be part of a policy application that he no longer agrees with.
Of course, this is most unfortunate not because it makes war with Iran more likely, but because of the impact it will have in Iraq immediately. You don’t have to drink the kool-aid on the surge to notice that Iraq has been far, far better under Fallon and Petraeus, and despite a reportedly cool professional relationship between the two of them, they’ve had a run of success at the time it was desperately needed. For us, with so many Kentucky kids over there toting rifles because they wanted the challenge and adventure and the recruiter was charismatic, this is a tragedy.
