Petraeus Nomination Not Iran War Signal, Fallon Says

TAMPA - As the new head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. David Petraeus will have to deal with Iran's continued influence in the Middle East.

His nomination, however, shouldn't be viewed as a step closer to war, said Adm. William Fallon, who abruptly resigned as Centcom commander in March.

"I don't think this is at all a sign there's some kind of imminent action," Fallon said during a brief phone interview Thursday with The Tampa Tribune. "This is a story that won't seem to go away."

It hasn't gone away, in part, because of Fallon.

News reports on President Bush's plan to nominate Petraeus mentioned the lingering concern over Iran.

Bush also plans to nominate Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno to assume Petraeus' duties as top U.S. commander in Iraq.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates was asked Wednesday whether the nominations were a warning to Iran, The New York Times reported. He did not answer the question directly.

"What Iranians are doing is killing American servicemen inside Iraq," Gates said.

Before his resignation, Fallon was portrayed as a critic of military action with Iran. He was reported as being at odds with the Bush administration and with Petraeus, not only on Iran but also on decisions affecting Iraq.

Also, in an Esquire magazine profile a week before he quit, he was cast as "The Man Between War and Peace."

Fallon criticized the profile Thursday as a personal attack on Bush, calling it disrespectful and inappropriate.

He said it was nonsense for people to speculate that Petraeus was being nominated because he might be less opposed to military action against Iran.

Petraeus, the admiral said, is a good choice as commander. The general is familiar with Iraq and its immediate neighbors - Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia - as well as Syria and Iran.

Fallon and Petraeus have been described as being at odds in the past. A report by The Washington Post in September details a discussion among the two men and Bush regarding troop levels in Iraq. Petraeus reportedly wanted as many troops on the ground as possible. His superior, Fallon, according to the article, wanted to significantly reduce troop levels.

Fallon said Thursday that he and Petraeus share similar views "regarding the negative influence of Iran pushing into Iraq."

He said Petraeus will have to grow an appreciation for the role Iran is playing overall in the region. However, he said, imminent military action is not a realistic idea.

"We're going to deal with this situation," Fallon said, and "try to find ways to get these guys to act in a way we'd like to see."

Petraeus, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate as commander, will inherit more than just a larger theater of operations in the Middle East. He will be responsible for issues at Centcom's headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base.

Petraeus is expected to work out of the Tampa headquarters, with frequent trips to the 27-country area of responsibility. Centcom oversees operations from the Horn of Africa to Central Asia.

It's unclear what effect, if any, he would have on decisions made during Fallon's tenure.

In May 2007, about two months after arriving at Centcom, Fallon initiated a job-reduction effort. He asked staff to look at ways to operate more efficiently and to reduce the roughly 3,400 personnel by about one-third. The job cuts created anxiety in Hillsborough County, where MacDill is one of the largest employers and provides billions of dollars to the local economy.

Fallon said the effort is the right thing to do.

"That's another story that's twisted and overblown," Fallon said.

"It was obvious to me there were a lot of people who didn't have enough to do and were inappropriately tasked."