Bush Dumps Another One

We've known for a while now that the Bush administration cannot stand to have their judgement questioned. You either agree with George or hit the road, and that goes for our military leaders, too. If they don't drink the red kool-aid, they don't last long. Independent thinking is not just discouraged, it is punished.

Last week, Esquire Magazine printed a profile of Admiral William Fallon, the head of U.S. forces in the Middle East and Central Asia. It portrayed him as opposing Bush's war plans for Iran. Yesterday Admiral Fallon resigned.

Fallon said he was resigning because the "resulting embarrassment" from the article was distracting, and that made it difficult for him to be effective in his job. In a very carefully worded statement, he said he doesn't "believe there have ever been any differences about the objectives of our policy..."

That's probably true. The difference was not in the objectives, but in how to achieve those objectives. The dead giveaway can be seen in Bush's statement about the resignation. He said he accepted it with "reluctance and regret", but quickly added, "I think it's the right decision".

Anyone who has been paying attention the last few years, knows this is not how Bush reacts to the loss of someone he wants to keep in power. You just have to look at people like Alberto Gonzales, Scooter Libby and Donald Rumsfeld, to know that Bush will fight tooth-and-nail to keep his kool-aid drinkers.

Obviously, Admiral Fallon was not one of them. He made the mistake of thinking for himself about what is best for America. And that's something Bush has never been able to tolerate.

So Bush has now run off another of our military leaders. I tell you, January 20th can't come soon enough for me.