Report: Fallon vetoed increased Gulf presence, opposes Bush moves on Iran

A Boatswain's Mate checks to make sure the launch bar is securely fastened on the catapult before signaling to launch the F/A-18C Hornet assigned to the "Sunliners" of Fighter Attack Squadron (VFA) 81 last week aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, which is currently stationed in the Persian Gulf

WASHINGTON - Admiral William Fallon, then US President George W Bush's nominee to head Central Command (CENTCOM), expressed strong opposition in February to an administration plan to increase the number of aircraft-carrier strike groups in the Persian Gulf from two to three and vowed privately that there would be no war against Iran as long as he was chief of CENTCOM, according to sources with access to his thinking.

Fallon's resistance to the proposed deployment of a third aircraft carrier was followed by a shift in the Bush administration's Iran policy in February and March away from increased military threats and toward diplomatic engagement with Iran. That shift, for which no credible explanation has been offered by administration officials, suggests that Fallon's resistance to a crucial deployment was a major factor in the intra-administration struggle over policy toward Iran.

The plan to add a third carrier strike group in the Gulf had been a key element in a broader strategy discussed at high levels to intimidate Iran by a series of military moves suggesting preparations for a military strike.

Read the rest at Asia Times

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