MILITARY
First Casualty Of The Iran War

On Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that CentCom commander Adm. William Fallon, who had been in the position for roughly a year, had submitted his resignation. Fallon's resignation came a week after news first leaked of an article in Esquire magazine by former Naval War College professor Thomas P.M. Barnett that suggested Fallon was the "one man" standing between the Bush administration and war with Iran and that it could cost him his job. "Well-placed observers now say that it will come as no surprise if Fallon is relieved of his command before his time is up next spring," wrote Barnett. Though Fallon publicly rejected the article, he told Gates upon resigning that "the current embarrassing situation, public perception of differences between my views and administration policy, and the distraction this causes from the mission make this the right thing to do." White House aides told the Wall Street Journal that "senior Bush administration officials saw the article as a sign that Adm. Fallon was trying to publicly undercut" President Bush. "It was seen as a form of insubordination," said one White House aide. While Iran has been the focus of much of the commentary surrounding Fallon's exit, Gates called Fallon's resignation "a cumulative kind of thing" that "isn't the result of any one article or any one issue." In fact, Fallon's public disagreements with the administration over Iraq may have had as much influence on his falling out of favor.

A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW: "There was no question that the admiral's premature departure stemmed from what were perceived to be policy differences with the administration on Iran and Iraq," writes Thom Shanker in the New York Times. Especially "where his views competed with those of Gen. David H. Petraeus, the American commander in Iraq, who is a favorite of the White House." As a nominee for the CentCom position in January 2007, Fallon refused to endorse Bush's surge strategy, saying that he's "always been someone who felt more comfortable in smaller numbers." Since then, he has been a proponent of "developing plans to redefine the U.S. mission and radically draw down troops" in Iraq in order to "balance deployments across the volatile region" he commanded. Last month, after Gates endorsed a "pause" in troop withdrawals this summer, Fallon told the New York Times that it should only be "temporary and brief" and that U.S. strategy should shift focus to a "supporting, sustaining, advising, training and mentoring role." A "senior Pentagon official" told Slate's Fred Kaplan that Fallon's comments were "unauthorized," which Kaplan says amounts to "challenging the president's policy...at his own initiative."

'NOT HELPFUL' WHEN IT COMES TO IRAN: Although Fallon's preference for diplomatic engagement with Iran rather than saber-rattling has been echoed by Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, Fallon's manner of delivering that message differed considerably from the administration script. In Barnett's Esquire article, Fallon says a narrow focus on Iran is not wise because "in a part of the world with 'five or six pots boiling over, our nation can't afford to be mesmerized by one problem.'" "This constant drumbeat of conflict" with Iran "is not helpful and not useful," Fallon told al Jazeera in September 2007. In December 2007, he told the Financial Times, "Another war is just not where we want to go." Last year, he was quoted as saying an attack on Iran "will not happen on my watch." In November, after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Fallon allowed it to be reported that he had "ruled out a possible strike against Iran and said Washington was mulling nonmilitary options instead." According to Newsweek, Fallon's main mistake was that he never included the caveat "of course, no options are off the table" in order to stay within administration policy.

RIGHT WING REJOICES: Right-wing war hawks are glad to see Fallon go. The Wall Street Journal Editorial board wrote yesterday that Fallon's resignation is "good news" because it will allow Bush to begin "to pay attention to the internal Pentagon dispute" over Iraq withdrawal. The New York Sun editorial board concurred, arguing that the "real news" of Fallon's resignation is that Petraeus might get to take over as CentCom commander. Writing an op-ed titled "Fallon didn't get it" in the Los Angeles Times yesterday, Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Max Boot ridiculed Fallon as one of the "guys who think they're smart" and is "undermining" Bush's Iran strategy. "Fallon makes it more likely, not less, that there will ultimately be an armed confrontation with Iran," wrote Boot. Writing for National Review, conservative hawk Frank Gaffney attacked Fallon as "a military man who has proven himself utterly unserious about the Iranian threat" and "had engaged in serial acts of insubordination and sabotage."

Under the Radar

IRAQ -- IRAQIS FEAR RETURN TO VIOLENT DAYS: A parked car bomb exploded in a Baghdad commercial district just outside the heavily fortified Green Zone today, killing 11 and wounding nearly 60. The bombing coincides with a recent spate of violence that has many in the Iraqi capital "feeling the unease of the period before violence eased partly as a result of the U.S. troop buildup, which is now coming to a close." The Associated Press recently interviewed many Iraqis who "said they were not necessarily changing their daily routines," but "the growing bloodshed was present in their minds, clouding what had until recently been a more hopeful time." Civilian deaths per day are up to 39 from a low of 20 last January, while at the same time, there has been "a sharp increase in attacks resulting in the deaths of U.S. soldiers. Twelve Americans have been killed in the past four days, bringing the overall U.S. military death toll since the start of the war near 4,000."

ENVIRONMENT -- EPA ADMINISTRATOR AGAIN IGNORES STAFF ADVICE ON SMOG REGULATIONS: Yesterday, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson announced "a modest tightening of the smog standard," from the current 84 parts of ozone per billion to 75 ppb. In reaching his decision, Johnson "overrul[ed] the unanimous advice of [the agency's scientific advisory council for a more protective standard." Johnson has a long history of making partisan decisions over the advice of his staff. In January, he denied a permit to California that would have allowed the state to strengthen its emissions caps on cars -- a decision that directly contradicted the advice of his staff. In fact, a staff memo prepared for Johnson warned that if he were to deny the permit, "the credibility of the agency that we both love will be irreparably damaged." Today, the LA Times reports that, regarding the latest smog decision, "President Bush intervened at the 11th hour" to reject "a second proposal by the EPA staff that would have established tougher seasonal limits on ozone based on its harm to forests, crops and other plants."

INTELLIGENCE -- PENTAGON BLOCKS REPORT SHOWING HUSSEIN HAD NO TIES TO AL QAEDA: On Monday, McClatchy reported that a Pentagon-sponsored "review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents," scheduled for release this week, confirmed that Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda had no "operational links," even though President Bush said as late as 2004, "The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al Qaeda: because there was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda." ABC reports that the Pentagon apparently doesn't want the study "to get any attention" as it has canceled "plans to send out a press release announcing the report's release and will no longer make the report available online." One Pentagon official said initial press reports on the study made it "too politically sensitive." Navy Capt. Dennis Moynihan, a spokesman for the Joint Forces Command, said, "We're making the report available to anyone who wishes to have it, and we'll send it out via CD in the mail."

Think Fast

The rapidly falling dollar "marked a milestone in Japan as it fell below 100 yen for the first time in 12 years" amid growing concerns about the health of the U.S. economy.

"The U.S. federal government ran a monthly budget deficit of $175.56 billion in February, a record for any month, the Treasury Department said Wednesday."

Sixty percent of Americans think the Iraq war was a mistake, according to a new USA Today poll. The same number also favors a timetable for troop withdrawal, regardless of the situation in Iraq, while 54 percent believe that history will judge the war as mostly or a total failure. A Pew poll found that 53 percent of Americans think the U.S. will ultimately achieve its goals in Iraq.

"A barrage of rockets targeting an American military base in southern Iraq on Wednesday morning killed three U.S. soldiers, bringing to 12 the number of Americans killed in Iraq in the past three days."

Top FBI officials "repeatedly approved the use of 'blanket' records demands to justify the improper collection of thousands of phone records." These blanket demands -- which do not require the approval of a judge -- were used at least 11 times in 2006 alone, "as a quick way to clean up mistakes" made since 9/11. 

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), traveling to Europe next week, said he wouldn't discuss differences with President Bush while abroad. "There are obvious differences," he said. "I certainly won't articulate them overseas."

When a Justice Department proposed rule requiring U.S. contractors "to report waste, fraud or abuse they encounter while doing work for the government" was published by the White House Office of Management and Budget last year, it included "language that would exempt from such reporting all U.S. contractors who do work overseas" including in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon has recorded nearly 50 videotapes of its interrogations of terrorism suspects Jose Padilla and Ali al-Marri, "the first official acknowledgment that military interrogators had videotaped some sessions with detainees."

And finally: Most senators and aides are dreading the "vote-o-rama" planned for the next few days. The dozens are votes will mostly focus on "obscure procedural motions." Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), however, is "truly thrilled at the prospect" of these votes. "I'm going to get my percentages up!' he gleefully told Roll Call, reportedly "pumping his arms in the air in the universal gesture of celebration." During his bid for the GOP presidential nomination, his voting record took a hit; he missed 28.2 percent of votes.

Good News

"Americans took 10.3 billion trips on public transportation in 2007, the highest level in 50 years, representing a 2.1% increase over the previous year."

State Watch

TEXAS: "Texas insurers were virtually untouched by the slowing economy in 2007," recording "one of their most profitable years of the decade."

ILLINOIS: Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) has "ordered screening of the state's waterways for pharmaceuticals."

CALIFORNIA: Dockers union plans protest of Iraq war on May 1.

Blog Watch

THINK PROGRESS: Pentagon dismisses KBR contaminated water: troops should "just drink bottled water."

MEDIA MATTERS: Will MSNBC's Chris Matthews hold his boss, Tim Russert, to the same standard he claims for others?

GRISTMILL: New Pew survey shows big support for fuel efficiency and renewables.

Daily Grill

"I think when people take a look back at this moment in our economic history, they'll recognize tax cuts work."
-- President Bush, 3/12/08

VERSUS

"[M]aking the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and Alternative Minimum Tax relief permanent would add $4.3 trillion to deficits and debt over just the next ten years and would substantially worsen the nation's already serious long-term fiscal problems."
-- Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 1/28/08

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