The Fall of Admiral George B. McFallon

By Samantha Sault
Published March 12, 2008 6:45pm ET
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Just posted on THE WEEKLY STANDARD Online is an article by Mackubin Thomas Owens about Admiral William “Fox” Fallon and his recent resignation. Owens explains that Fallon’s resignation was largely due to a recent Esquire article about Fallon’s very public disagreements with the Bush administration over foreign policy. Owens writes:

While reasonable people can disagree over the wisdom of the Bush administration’s policy regarding Iraq, the really troubling aspect of this article is that it reveals the extent to which a combatant commander had taken it on himself to develop and disseminate policy independently of the president. This flies in the face of the American practice of civil-military relations, going back to the American Revolution.

He continues that it is

undeniable that as commander of CENTCOM, Fallon acted in a way that exceeded his authority. The tenor of Fallon’s public pronouncements was in stark contrast to that of statements made by other high-ranking military officers who, while they have no desire to provoke a war with Iran while the U.S. military is heavily engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, have not taken it upon themselves to constrain American foreign policy to the extent that Fallon has. Indeed, had Fallon not stepped down, the president would have been perfectly justified in firing him, as Abraham Lincoln fired Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, as Franklin Roosevelt fired Rear Admiral James O. Richardson, and Harry Truman fired Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

Read the whole thing at THE WEEKLY STANDARD Online. Some of The Blog’s friends had similar things to say about Fallon. One foreign affairs expert remarked, “That’s very thoughtful of Fox Fallon to spare President McCain the necessity of firing him.” And what’s next for Fallon? Another scholar speculates, “Just think…we now will have the round of Fallon on every talk show possible. He’ll make Wes Clark appear shy and retiring is my guess.”

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