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March 11, 2008

Listen to the Top Brass in the Middle East

Don’t Make Them Quit Early
By Lawrence J Korb

The surprise decision by the top U.S. commander in the Middle East to retire early
bodes ill for the prosecution of the war in Iraq, for the fight against Al Qaeda and the
Taliban in Afghanistan, and for the wider war against terrorist extremists in the
region. Why? Because once again President Bush is not listening to his top military
commanders, or more precisely because he doesn’t like what he’s hearing.
Admiral William J. Fallon's abrupt retirement as the top U.S. military commander in
the Middle East is the latest sign that the Pentagon's top brass do not agree with the
direction in which the Bush administration is heading. Fallon, who had been in the job
for only about a year and who was the first commander in the region to hail from the
Navy, had earlier expressed his views that the administration was eager to take on
Iran militarily amid the already complicated and debilitating Iraqi campaign.
Hopefully Fallon's resignation will force the administration to listen to his position on
Iran and prevent them from ignoring the advice of their respected military advisors.
But don’t count on it at this late date in the war. After all, the president and his
closest advisors ignored the advice of General Colin Powell and General Erik Shinseki
when it came to waging the war in Iraq.
But Congress can and should hold the president accountable to his frequent
statements that he listens to the advice of his generals. With the fifth anniversary of
the invasion of Iraq only weeks away, getting to the bottom of what the Pentagon
really thinks about the prosecution of the war in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and potentially
with Iran, should be a top priority.
Lawrence J. Korb is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress.
Read more from CAP:
 Strategic Reset: Reclaiming Control of U.S. Security in the
Middle East
 How to Redeploy: Implementing a Responsible Drawdown of
U.S. Forces from Iraq
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