Login HereAdm. William J. Fallon, the top American commander in the Middle East whose views on Iran and other issues have seemed to put him at odds with the Bush administration, is retiring early, the Pentagon said Tuesday afternoon.
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Admiral Fallon had rankled senior officials of the Bush administration with outspoken comments on such issues as dealing with Iran and on setting the pace of troop reductions from Iraq....
Getting rid of Fallon may not be a sufficient condition for an attack on Iran, but it is almost certainly a necessary one.
Meanwhile, the NY GOP is threatening to initiate impeachment proceedings if Governor Spitzer does not resign voluntarily, while Diaper Dave Vitter, Larry "Wide Stance" Craig, Deadeye Dick Cheney, and George "Too Many Impeachable Offenses To Highlight Just One" Bush don't seem to be going anywhere. So let's just sum up, shall we?
o Democratic president consorts with intern: Impeachment, no conviction.
o Democratic governor consorts with prostitutes (overtones of unsafe sex): Choice of resignation or impeachment.
o Republican senator consorts with prostitutes (overtones of diaper-wearing): No big deal.
o Republican senator solicits gay sex in men's room: Human punchline, Ethics Committee admonishment.
o Republican vice president shoots hunting buddy in the face: No big deal. Victim apologizes.
o Republican president starts war under false pretenses, tortures prisoners, wiretaps American citizens without warrants, etc, etc, etc.: Impeachment "off the table."
o Republican-appointed CENTCOM commander displays sound tactical and strategic judgment that stands in the way of Dubya's shiny new war: Forced to resign.
Lesson learned: If you're a Republican or a Republican appointee, you can pretty much do whatever you want, provided you never, ever put duty ahead of loyalty.
Or get indicted. Chasing underage kids is fine - but if you get caught, you're on your own.
(h/t Michael Froomkin for the Fallon-was-fired link)
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yo
hey Eli!
Zed-near?
Congrats, Raven!
Yo Raven, hey cbl!
yoyo
Now onto regular programming. I think Spitzer should hang tough and let this wash over. He won’t be able to run again, but he should stay in office to the end of his term, and make it clear that if he goes down, he will take as many thugs with him as he can. That means pointing out their hypocrisy, and the IOKIYAR. Hammer it, hammer it hammer it.
hi Eli …need your help…i emailed ya about my camcorder…pulease,im truly stoopit about which one to buy
do all people quit their jobs,when they get caught doing the big nasty?
As to Fallon, his resignation is disturbing, but Jane suggested that it may be that he is doing it to have freedom to speak. If so, he will do better than the Nazi generals, though granted, their freedom of speech was rather limited.
Aloha, Eli! So when does the bombing commence…?
Hammer it, hammer it hammer it.
that’s what got him in this pickle in the first place.
Did you not get my e-mail? I don’t really know much about camcorders, I’m strictly a still photography guy, but all the ones you listed sound fine unless you have a low-light requirement.
Republican-appointed CENTCOM commander displays sound tactical and strategic judgment that stands in the way of
Dubya’sShooter’s shiny new war: Forced to resign.Sorry Eli, just a minor correction.
Tweety talkin bout the tunnels under the Korean Dmz, jesus h christ on a kiddycar, the shit he doesn’t know about.
I read Hacktacular Howie’s Media Notes column in the WaPo0 this morning. Not only did he highlight Spitzer and Clinton (of course), he then went on to list a half dozen other Dems who have had zipper problems in the last ten years but somehow failed to mention any Rs in the same situation other than Diaper David Vitter and Toe Tappin’ Larry Craig.
Of course IOKIYAR.
Keith says he’ll do his special comment on Hillary tomorrow. I think that, given his well-known record of misogyny, he should recuse himself from that topic. Not that Hillary doesn’t deserve a special comment given recent events, I just think Keith has no credibility to give it.
Well, I guess we’ll find out if that was it soon enough.
Repukes only fire people who:
Are against torture.
Against spying on Americans.
Against attacking sovereign nations who have not attacked us.
Against the Bratking.
Against Darth.
Against Neoconism.
Point out that they have destroyed the economy of the United States of America.
The message for me is I shouldn’t take any prostitutes with me while on hunting expeditions with Dick Cheney in any men’s public restroom stalls.
Foley?
i have a low light requirement…howd ya guess”g”
Take a look at Steve’s Digcam’s very good site
IOKIYGAR
“it’s OK if your genitals are Republican”
Great post, Eli - thanks for placing the wingers’ sudden outrage in context:
Kneeling on a grotty mens’ room floor is a poor platform for calling “outrage!” And a mouthful of penis kind of buries the lede….
I believe that would be most things he opens his yap about. More than enough to fill all the encyclopedias in existence.
What a crock, god where do you come up with this?
Sounds like a good idea for a reality show.
And who could forget the beloved Newt….
carry-over..
Biodun, aspirin and chicken soup
egregious, like minds re reject and denounce!
I am resigned to ongoing race-baiting from the Hillary surrogates until Hillary herself is directly and forcefully challenged on this. Her smarmy “rein in” from time to time reply when asked about Ferraro was too disingenuous by half. This is her campaign. This is the team she selected. This is on her.
I denounce and reject Hillary Clinton.
im very upset by Fallons departure….im going to go eat pasts and REAL CREAM sauce,to try to feel better
See, that could be kind of an issue. I think those cams all have small sensors (1/6″), which means small pixels, which means poor low-light performance.
This is not good.
Nope. It’s not necessarily a green light, but it certainly removes a major roadblock. Or at least speedbump.
All good vibes to Fallon that he, as a “Ret.” civilian, expose these war-mongering, torture supporting
peoplecorrupt, dictator-supporting, Neofascists before its too late. One can only hope in his general direction…“tunnels under the Korean Dmz,“
Have it on in the other room. Threw up in my mouth a little bit when I heard that. Oh yeah, and we get David
DickheadGregory instead of Rachael.i shall not bother you here,but mebbe this Sony no Baloney i found….ill use the intertubes
Eli- To say the least.
Sorry, this for video cams
must have belated DST dinner…ill be BACH!
Maryann caught with Maryjane.
Skipperrrrrrr!
-G
I thought it was well-known. His continuing ridicule of the runaway bride was the one that sticks in my mind, but there have been countless others.
thanks heaps,im poor for now,but ill be back soon,must eat,cant think
Friends in high places tell me some Wall Street Masters of the Universe types have been gunning for Spitzer since way back. They think this “bust” is because of their string pulling. Seems there is little sympathy for Spitzer in Albany either.
Please substantiate with some facts. I am frankly befuddled by this comment.
I’m seeing where Gov. Spitzer has spent more than eighty-thousand dollars on high priced prostitutes. Talk about irresponsible fiscal policy.
sorry this is just BS…they deserved ridicule,and i am a fembot
Well, we knew SOMEONE out there would say this, just a matter of time.
I must’ve missed it, but, while I was there, they found one that ended up right on the northern outskirts of Seoul, and, the size of a two lane highway… We were immediately put under red alert conditions for about a month… It totally hugged…!
Trickle down….ahem.
-G
I share Christy’s bafflement. He’s not just a run-of-the-mill dumb pol who thinks with his dick - he’s a former prosecutor who has used all the same tools that were used on him.
Its like he *wanted* to get caught.
Who didn’t laugh at the runaway bride? She’s a freaking nutcase who wanted attention.
OK, so a woman who is obviously psychologically disturbed deserves to be repeatedly ridiculed on nationwide TV. With liberals like you who needs conservatives?
They found the one’s that they launched the Blue House raid in 68 in the mid-70’s. We never could figure out how Joe would just pop up outside the wire the way he did.
I didn’t laugh, not once, and neither did any decent person.
And we’re talking about KO and the Runaway Bride… why?
Conservatives would probably have had her committed. Get a life.
Amazing. You really believe this so I’m outta this conversation.
Coming from a supporter of the political camp that introduce the term ‘bimbo eruptions’ into the national lexicon, that is rich.
-G
Don’t put words in our mouths, Riesz…! 8-(
It doesn’t make sense. He must have had a humongous amount of guilt….or…he set himself up…or he somehow set “them” up.
We are progressives. We are here because we are progressives. There is ONLY one real voice for progressives right now that will speak truth to power in the MSM. And. It. Is. Keith. Now is not the time to take a cue from the GOP and start eating our young.
Just sayin.
who knows? just an arrow at Keith.
Wow…I’m speechless.
Getting rid of Fallon may not be a sufficient condition for an attack on Iran, but it is almost certainly a necessary one.
Well, having just watched Boosh singing his funny (in a Republican sorta way) song from last Saturday, it’s obvious he’s in a good mood.
“What the hell, it’s a gorgeous day and I feel great - let’s start a war!”
I did not take HRC or any other nutcase running loose wanting the nuclear
football to raise… save the social worker line for another day, she has
plenty of staff to intervene in this meltdown… out here in flyover land
we take care of our own if at all possible.
How could he have set “them” up? And why? There’s really no upside for him here.
Sorry Eli, off topic.
Eli, perhaps I have missed it but do we know who will replace Fallon?
Buchanan just said that: “People think Hillary is getting the shaft from the media because they are in love with an African-American guy.”
Gasp again.
I think just his deputy right now, but presumably they will be looking for someone bloodthirsty and insane as his permanent replacement.
Some other lifer mofo
Eli -
Do you know who the players are, besides Cheney, pressing for Fallon’s resignation? With Fallon gone Cheney and his supporters can have their way with Iran.
Let’s see what McCain has to say about Fallon’s “resignation”. Fallon is a voice of reason in all this madness. He is also in McCain’s Dad’s domain. Will McCain support his forced resignation? Anyone putting the question to him?
You mean Wolfowitz is going to replace him?? :)
Are we perpared to think that the election of a President McCain won’t be taken as a mandate to attack Iran?
Tired lifer flatfoot mofo.
WAY OT and possibly old news, but so funny…read the customer reviews!
Discontinued Playmobil Set
well put, Eli.
Pat Buchanan only says something that makes sense about once a month - obviously he’s realized that March is a long month, so he’s hanging on to it for a while…
OT- Boehner speaking on “Ethics” reform on C-span.
It’s all so mind blowing.
Eighty grand on hookers?!?! That kinda money could have fed a lot of hungry kids. The guy’s rich to begin with but, jeeeezus h christ, one would think he could control his crank. Talk about thinkin’ with the little head.
Given the shit filled bed that the Hillary’s campaign has made of the political discourse/process, it’s time for them to lay in it. I would expect the same for Barack’s campaign but someone needs to call them out for their antics
Nah, I’m not that connected or in-the-know. Wouldn’t be surprised if Golden Boy Petraeus was one of them, though.
I know, but there is something so strange about the way this went down..I don’t believe that, but here is a man who knew how they (the ring) operated (because that is what he did) and how the Feds operated (because that is what he did)…Considering that, why on earth would he walk into an obviously dangerous situation like that….leaving money trails…talking on the phone…talking on the textmessaging…..
Bizarre behavior all around.
I didn’t know he was qualified to talk about ethics, or reform either.
I said this earlier but there was lot’s of hand wringing here when Fallon got the job because he was a Squid and it was proof we were gonna launch an attack on Iran from the gulf. Taker easy folks, you’ll have a stroke.
Why do they torture me by putting him on the toobz? The man is like a bad STD
Eli, was he really fired for insubordination?
Updated Indiana results on today’s special election to replace the late Julia Carson (D-IN7):
Name Votes Vote %
Andre D. Carson (D) 13,878 50.99%
Jon Elrod (R) 12,506 45.95%
Sean Shepard (L) 817 3.00%
194 of 445 precincts reporting
(this was a paper ballot, so it may take a while - I’m kinda surprised that the reporting is this far along.)
Imagine what that would have got ya on Tudo!
once he takes off the uniform, fallon is free to speak freely, yes?
Eli, perhaps I have missed it but do we know who will replace Fallon?
From TPM…
Yeah, he will be free to criticize
I always thought he was a Rummy pick because he NOT RA.
Yea but ya never know how that will break.
Maybe more like potential insubordination. He wasn’t on board with what they wanted to do, and they wanted a CENTCOM commander who would get with the program.
Yes, I’m assuming that an attack on Iran is “the program”, although I think they still have some work to do to sell the idea as something other than total self-destructive insanity.
Can’t be RA if you are a swab jockey!
Howdy, Ma’am! That would be correct…! Now, will he…? Hmmm…
I figured he was a Gates guy because Gates does not appear to be completely insane. When the speculation about Fallon leaving first started, I wondered whether Gates might end up close behind him.
(Needless to say, I still wonder)
even so, and I hope he does speak up and speak out, it’s still disquieting.
God help us all.
I know that this will not go over very well here in chicken little land but I don’t think these morons are attacking anyone else, but Hillary will as soon as she wins. Take it to the bank.
Amen
Remember John McCain’s fact finding rug shopping mission to Baghdad recently?
Who?
lt. gen. martin dempsey
wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Dempsey
Ferraro? Clinton? Condi? Malkin?
Does CENTCOM have to be approved by the Senate? I didn’t think so, but if true, it changes the game. I don’t think so. He’s a field commander, not Joint Chief.
Let’s hope Admiral Fallon does better than General Powell.
Unless, of course, you are a GOP Congressman from Florida. In which case you get off scot-free.
As much as I am not a Hillary (*or* Obama) fan, I just don’t think she’s that crazy or stupid.
hahahahah … Heinrich … LOL
Hey, Foley paid the steepest possible price: He lost his seat in the House of Representatives. What more do you want from the guy?
The impression is that these ex-military guys don’t stray too far from the farm. This Fallon business is one of those cases when I hope to be wrong.
Hi Ron
Sometimes some people here get carried away with the story du jour.
It’ll change tomorrow,like the wind, and some people will change their tune.
they still have some work to do to sell the idea as something other than total self-destructive insanity.
To whom? Almost 3/4 of the merkin people think “they” are doing a horrible job with the whole war thing.
And Raven,
We were looking at some stats today on fatalities in Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of E-7 and up makes up more than 1/2 of the dead. The military has lost the institutional knowledge that even makes it possible for us to defend ourselves much less get aggressive. I say this to you because I know you actually care about the US Military, as do I. (RA, ‘73-’76)
Well, I’m stickin to my story. She will be just like St JFK and Nam, in the face of the right wing machine she’ll have to prove she has cajones.
I have Gates figured for a deadender.
The calculus is perceived expediency. Whatever it takes to win now, count on Dems desperate for a Dem White House in November.
Lost me, tho.
*channelling OKK*: Veep Mondale*, will you denounce and reject the racist tactics of the Clinton campaign?
*or the superdelegate or Dem leader of your choice….