Diplomacy and ass-kissing

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Fallon did not get Georgie's memo:

Gates on Iran:

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - In a new move to tackle the potential nuclear threat in the Middle East, the U.S. is planning to address issues with Iran using diplomatic and economic means, according to new statements from Defense Secretary Robert Gates. After speculation that Washington was contemplating a military solution to a nuclear Tehran, Gates took to television to discourage the thought of a war with Iran, but did not rule it out.

In an interview with Fox News, Gates didn't confirm if President George Bush will consult Congress before launching a military strike against Iran. "I will tell you that I think the administration believes at this point that continuing to try and deal with the Iranian threat, the Iranian challenge through diplomatic and economic means is by far the preferable approach," Gates said.

Admiral Fallon on Petraeus:

WASHINGTON - In sharp contrast to the lionization of General David Petraeus by members of the US Congress during his testimony this week, Petraeus's superior, Admiral William Fallon, chief of the Central Command (Centcom), derided Petraeus as a sycophant during their first meeting in Baghdad in March, according to Pentagon sources familiar with reports of the meeting.

Fallon told Petraeus that he considered him to be "an ass-kissing little chickenshit" and added, "I hate people like that," the sources say.

[snip]

Fallon's derision toward Petraeus reflected both the Centcom commander's personal distaste for Petraeus's style of operating and their fundamental policy differences over Iraq, according to the sources.

The policy context of Fallon's extraordinarily abrasive treatment of his subordinate was Petraeus's agreement in February to serve as front man for the George W Bush administration's effort to sell its policy of increasing US troop strength in Iraq to Congress.

In a highly unusual political role for an officer who had not yet taken command of a war, Petraeus was installed in the office of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in early February just before the Senate debated Bush's troop increase. According to a report in the Washington Post on February 7, senators were then approached on the floor and invited to McConnell's office to hear Petraeus make the case for the "surge" policy.

Fallon was strongly opposed to Petraeus's role as pitchman for the "surge" in Iraq adopted by Bush in December as putting his own interests ahead of a sound military posture in the Middle East and Southwest Asia - the area for which Fallon's Centcom is responsible.

The Centcom commander believed the United States should be withdrawing troops from Iraq urgently, largely because he saw greater dangers elsewhere in the region. "He is very focused on Pakistan," said a source familiar with Fallon's thinking, "and trying to maintain a difficult status quo with Iran."

[snip]

Fallon also expressed great skepticism about the basic assumption underlying the "surge" strategy, which was that it could pave the way for political reconciliation in Iraq. In the lead story of September 9, the Washington Post quoted a "senior administration official" as saying that Fallon had been "saying from Day 1, 'This isn't working.'"

Georgie's losing control of his mighty manly muscly military....