As Bush Foe, Admiral's Days Were Numbered

It's amazing that Adm. William Fallon held on to his job as long as he did while openly disagreeing with the Bush administration on matters of military strategy, writes John Barry in Newsweek. Fallon's continued insistence that war with Iran is a lousy idea finally led to his resignation yesterday as head of US forces in the Mideast. This month's Esquire profile of Fallon noted that "the president may have had enough."

That profile—the most direct cause of Fallon's resignation—also said of Fallon, "He's standing up to the commander in chief, who he thinks is contemplating a strategically unsound war." Defense chief Gates, who had previously fought to save Fallon's job, hedged on whether he'd spoken to Bush about the article, but he suggested it strongly when he announced Fallon's resignation. (More George W. Bush stories.)