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"A Big Promotion" for General Petraeus

Posted by Liliana Segura, AlterNet at 8:48 AM on April 23, 2008.


Weeks after defending the war before Congress, General David Petraeus is tapped to become the head of U.S. Central Command.
petraeus

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In a press conference this morning, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that General David Petraeus will be replacing Admiral William Fallon to become the head of U.S. Central Command, or Centcom, which oversees military activity throughout the Middle East.

It is a "major promotion" in the words of several CNN pundits, for the man currently leading our wildly successful mission in Iraq.

Fallon, who resigned abruptly in March after Esquire quoted him saying that he was opposed to military aggression against Iran, had a notoriously bad relationship with Petraeus; at one point last March Fallon allegedly called him "an ass-kissing little chickenshit" and said "I hate people like that." ("Bad relations?" one official told the Washington Post in September, "That's the understatement of the century.") The acrimony between the two had much to do with opposing ideas about how to move forward in Iraq -- but that conflict has clearly been resolved, what with the success of the surge and all.

Petraeus's nomination must be approved by the Senate -- a forgone conclusion -- after which he will be in charge, not only of the U.S.'s broader mission in Iraq (whatever that is), but the war in Afghanistan too. Because you know, if he can bring the magic of the surge to Afghanistan, democracy is as good as formed.

According to the Associated Press, "Gates said the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other problems in the Central Command area of responsibility, demand knowledge of how to fight counterinsurgencies as well as other unconventional conflicts."

"I don't know anybody in the U.S. military better qualified to lead that effort," Gates said.

Be afraid.

(The AP has more.)

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Tagged as: afghanistan, fallon, centcom, iraq, surge, petraeus

Liliana Segura is an AlterNet staff writer.


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"...knowledge of how to fight insurgencies"
Posted by: hurricane hugo on Apr 23, 2008 10:24 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Hmmm...didn't this Petraeus guy write the book on how to do just that, only to ignore it and say that BushCo's ridiculous idea could actually work?

Ya get what ya pay for.

jdfu!

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And... of course...
Posted by: JoshuaLudd on Apr 23, 2008 10:35 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The Dems will do nothing to stop it. Just as they have done nothing to stop ANYTHINg Bush has wanted to do.

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» and neither will republicans Posted by: KaptainSpiffy
if you are 'qualified' by promoting the bush agenda, then petraeus is over-qualified
Posted by: KaptainSpiffy on Apr 23, 2008 11:46 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
he has bent the facts of what is occuring in iraq to suit the whitehouse.

more of the same.

another self-serving traitor getting his in the bush cabal.

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» pfft! the '1' squad visited Posted by: KaptainSpiffy
» aw Posted by: KaptainSpiffy
» RE: aw Posted by: Aimleft
» *blushes* Posted by: KaptainSpiffy
Now the way will be clear...
Posted by: Quannah on Apr 23, 2008 11:57 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
for this criminal administration to embark upon their last mission... attack Iran.

Admiral Fallon said it wouldn't happen as long as he was CentCom commander. So now they have their "Yes-Man" who will give the green light to this project.

I said in a previous post when Admiral Fallon left that Petraeus would succeed him. Wonder if my prediction for an attack during the Democratic Convention in August will be realized?

God help us all.

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Attack on Iran in the works..!
Posted by: TJ-stars4peace on Apr 23, 2008 12:51 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This is definitely a lead up to The Iranian War..

General Petraeus is on board for that all the way which is what Bush wants to do before leaving office as a going away present to America and the Democrats..

It's all Nancy Pelosi's fault for taking Impeachment out of the Constitution..

Of course the Attack upon Iran will spread to a huge regional and then even possibly world war or multiple wars with America having almost no allies if any..

There is little doubt in my mind that Russia will join in against us at the most opportune time as well as China and all their surrogates and Iran's allies such as Turkmenistan which is all Shiia and rather large with a large army and millions of them and also possibly other Muslim former Soviet states..some with nuclear weapons and material..

Also Bush I think hopes the attack upon Iran will bring about terrorist attacks if not here in America which is likely then Europe so he can declare and invoke NSPD-51 and HSPD-20 under his emergency plans for Martial Law and the full Unitary Dictatorship he signed last year..

Under the guise of "Continuity" there is nothing that would prevent him in those documents from even suspending the elections..

The Supreme Court might up hold this as the majority is the Federalist Society, who favor Dictatorship and The Unitary Scumbggery Doctrine..!

A war with Iran 70 million Shiia who seek martyrdom to honor Hussein their patron would not be the cake walk Iraq has been..by comparison..not at all..not one bit yet it is apparent that Cheney and Petraeus and Bush are hell bent on this and it may even take forcing a resignation of Gates if he doesn't play ball to start the Iranian War..but putting Petraeus in Florida where he can run the show from a safe distance from those who will be doing the dying, is a big step towards this ultimate act of utter stupidity..attacking Iran..

So stay tuned if you think it's bad now you'll soon remember these as the good ole days and yearn for them as such..

Once we attack Iran the clock will be really ticking and nothing good will come of it only bad real real bad stuff..and lot's of it..

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» article on NSPD-51 Posted by: David/Daoud
Too bad he smells like shit
Posted by: cwilsondrum on Apr 23, 2008 3:17 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
No one can get within arms reach. A brown nose that is years old has got to be a real turnoff.
couldn't say it any better than this

U.S.-IRAQ: Fallon Derided Petraeus, Opposed the Surge
By Gareth Porter*

Fallon told Petraeus that he considered him to be "an ass-kissing little chickenshit" and added, "I hate people like that", the sources say. That remark reportedly came after Petraeus began the meeting by making remarks that Fallon interpreted as trying to ingratiate himself with a superior.

what ya think?

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It deserves repeating.
Posted by: cwilsondrum on Apr 23, 2008 3:19 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Fallon told Petraeus that he considered him to be "an ass-kissing little chickenshit" and added, "I hate people like that", the sources say. That remark reportedly came after Petraeus began the meeting by making remarks that Fallon interpreted as trying to ingratiate himself with a superior.

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Be afraid...
Posted by: packofwolves on Apr 24, 2008 5:49 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Be very very afraid. Is there no end to the absolute absurdity of this war and the people willing to defend it? Is there no end to the corruption and blatant disregard for anything civil, intelligent, rational, humane, and sensible? Look at what our country is now, a bully, threatening everyone with our big guns while we are uneducated, and not only uneducated but completely ignorant, uninsured, homeless, and despicable in the way we interact in a world that is now flat. We went from a harbinger of opportunity to one of greed and corruption. And we call ourselves a democracy and the good guy spreading democracy to our less fortunate neighbors. Well if our country represents what the world should be, I'd rather Scotty beam me up now. There is something inherently wrong in trying to force one way of life onto others, isn't there? Anyway, who in their right mind would want their country to be like ours now? All other countries in the world are surpassing us by leaps and bounds and we just keep flashing our guns...aren't we the smart ones?

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» RE: Be afraid... Posted by: Dboy
ass kissing works!
Posted by: Grandma Crabby on Apr 24, 2008 9:38 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
So the ass kissing little chicken shit has been rewarded!

I feel so safe.

I agree with other posters that Fallon quiting and Petraeus being promoted is one of the last steps before the bombing of Iran.

Go check out my satire videos at the link below.



VideoProductionTips = Learn Internet Video

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Proof positive...
Posted by: manderson on Apr 24, 2008 12:29 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...that sucking shit out of Fascist Corpratist assholes will get you paid more for sucking more. All they need is a few good "men".

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Now we know what is coming next.
Posted by: nightgaunt on Apr 24, 2008 3:34 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I warned on another post that it wasn't that Fallon was replaced so much as whom will be replacing him. Now we know. Just like in so many other countries when the the scum is at the top and ideology counts for more than competence. Gen. Pareaus is a prime example.

Next stop,attack Iran and lose more rights here.
Be careful what you say out in the world,locals with a grudge can bring the Gestapo/KGB down on you. Naomi Wolf and Naomi Klien both have much to say on our present contratemps. Yes be aware and be afraid!! The reasons are there.

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