Top U.S. Commander in Middle East Resigns

Bumped

Can someone please explain this to me?

Adm. William Fallon, the top U.S. military commander for the Middle East, has resigned.

In a written statement released from his Tampa, Fla., office, Adm. Fallon said, "Recent press reports suggesting a disconnect between my views and the president's policy objectives have become a distraction at a critical time, and hamper efforts in the Centcom region."

In announcing Fallon's resignation Tuesday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it was "a cumulative kind of thing. It isn't the result of any one article or any one issue."

Gates stressed that today's announcement should not be interpreted as a move closer toward military action against Iran. Hmmm. Can someone please explain this to me?

Update: AP at HA explains, "Allegedly he (Fallon) isn’t a big fan of Petraeus either, so bear that angle in mind too as explanations emerge. Stand by."

Updated update: This post may answer my own question. Stand by, indeed.

Updated updated Update: From the LATimes, no less! If accurate, this explains a lot.
Fallon didn't get it.
The departing head of Central Command was wrong about the surge.
By Max Boot

Like a lot of smart guys (or, at any rate, guys who think they're smart), Fallon seems to have outsmarted himself. He thinks the war in Iraq is a distraction from formulating "a comprehensive strategy for the Middle East," according to the profile. The reality is that the only strategy worth a dinar is to win the war in Iraq. If we fail there, all other objectives in the region will be much harder to attain; if we succeed, they will be much easier.

Max Boot, a contributing editor to Opinion, is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.