Lost in all of the excitement over the Governor of New York's extra governmental adventures as client number nine and the latest verbal gaffes out of the Clinton Presidential bid, was an interesting note of a senior American military leader tendering his resignation.
Admiral William F Fallon will take his retirement on March 31st, bringing to an end a 40 plus year career in the US Military and leaving more than few questions about the state of relations between the White House and the Pentagon's upper management corps.
Fallon was examined in an Esquire magazine article, described as "The Man Between War and Peace", the lengthy examination by Thomas Barnett, tracks Fallon's deployment as lead military man for the Middle East and how at times it has found him seemingly at odds with an Administration eager to move on to more adventures in the region.
While some have suggested that Fallon became an open opponent of the Administration's plans for Iraq, Afghanistan and maybe Iran and other nations of the region for that matter, it's not overly evident in the article.
If nothing else the Admiral exhibits a bit of a common sense approach to the current over heated situations in the region, which may have run counter to the normal operating procedure in Washington these days.
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He was certainly a pain for the neo-con crowd in Washington, who always seem to want to send troops off someplace, a wish that is strangely frequently made by those who never actually served in the military themselves.
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Admiral Fallon it seems, was only doing what a good Commanding Officer should do, look out for the best interest of his troops, apparently a trait that is not particularly welcomed these days it seems.
Regardless of how things really were between Fallon and his political masters, he's no longer part of the picture. A move that Barnett seems to believe doesn't bode well for developments in the Middle East.
It's a fascinating look at the line that military leaders have to walk along when it comes to working with politicians, bureaucrats and even Presidents.
It seems that maybe Admiral Fallon walked on the wrong side of the line, one time too many.
What remains to be seen following his departure, is if Barnett is right and the stage is now set for more adventures for the Bush Administration.
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Photo from the MSNBC website
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