Petraeus "an ass-kissing little chickenshit" according to retired CENTCOM Commander Admiral Fallon - Basra fucked up - Official

Nur al Cubicle presents a translation from Le Monde by Patrice Claude
Iran and Moqtada al-Sadr strengthened after the Iraqi' government's failed military offensive - LE MONDE 2 April 2008 13:44

"... it appears that the Americans, who do not have a permanent military presence in Basra, took Mr. Maliki at his word that his offensive would be a stroll in the park. As several Iraqi generals have said themselves, there was "surprise" at the combativeness of the Mahdi Army, the Sadrist militia, and its capacity to mobilize partisans in every big city of the Shi'ite south, including Baghdad.

Mr. Maliki did not achieve the aims that he had set out to accomplish. The "18 militias" counted by the French-Iraqi researcher Hosham Dawood are still running their lucrative smuggling operations in Basra."

"No quarter of Basra under the domination of the Mahdi Army was wrested from their control. Hundreds of police and soldiers throughout the country refused to open fire on the militias and some joined them." More >>>

All of which is a great surprise - perhaps most of all to cocksure General Petraeus, who in his presentation to Congress had so many medal ribbons on his jacket there was, keen eyed staff of Lord Patel noted, a sign at the bottom that said "Continues on other side".

Way, way below the fold

ABC did not report the news, of Crocker and Petraeus's appearance , and NBC and CBS dedicated a combined total of 3 minutes of airtime to the hearings. Print media continue to devote considerable attention to the hearings, but the nation's largest circulation newspapers don't run their reports on their front pages. Thursday's Wall Street Journal ran its main Petraeus story on page A4; the New York Times ran a major analysis of the testimony on page A10; and USA Today ran a brief AP report on page 4A.

Notably Defense Secretary Robert Gates appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday and backtracked from last year's upbeat testimony about increasing drawdowns continueing throughout the year, which would have left about 10 brigades -- or roughly 100,000 troops -- in Iraq at year's end. When the committee's Democratic chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, asked Gates whether he still thought that was possible, Gates said: "No, sir."

Admiral William Fallon, chief of the Central Command (CENTCOM), described Petraeus as a sycophant when they first met Baghdad in March 2006.

Fallon apparently told Petraeus that he considered him to be "an ass-kissing little chickenshit" and added, "I hate people like that" .. remarks that followed Petraues trying to ingratiate himself with a superior. See Thursday, September 13, 2007 - Iraq - Bush advised to try coitus interruptus - retired soldiers demand "withdrawal"

Find out more about Admiral Fallon - Tuesday, March 11, 2008 US CENTCOM Commander Admiral Fallon hands in his lunch pail - EX - UK 2 IC in Iraq Gen. Lamb "winning Iraqi & Afghan "Hearts and Minds" is ridiculous - when he announced he was stepping down effective March 31, because of well known differences on policy with the Bush administration.

Fallon assumed the post a year ago as the commander of all U.S. forces in the Middle East, with responsibility for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is said to have informed Gates of his decision today (march 10th) .

``Admiral Fallon reached this difficult decision entirely on his own,'' Gates told a news conference at the Pentagon. Gates said it was a ``misperception'' that Fallon differed from the administration. Absolute bollocks.

"misperception'' comes from the same school as "mis-spoke"...er.. presumably. "an ass-kissing little chickenshit" ... well ..er.. possibly a misperception ?

Nur gave this link which wouldn't work but it does now The War Nerd April 2, 2008
Who Won Iraq's "Decisive" Battle? By Gary Brecher ..

Toni Fabuloso has just woken up and asks if you would get an EXTREME ironing award for even attempting to iron his jacket. She reckons he must work out at the gym just to be able to wear the damn thing.