"Fallon is the American at the center of every circle in this part of the world. And it is a testament to his skill, and to the failure of American diplomacy, that so much is left for this military man to do himself."- Very true and well reasoned article "His calculus on this subject is far more complex than anyone else's. He is neither an idealist nor a fantasist." Good First Person reporting

It's an excellent portrayal of the operational style and thought process of an obviously very thoughtful military man - the kind we (at least in historic legend) once had. And there was the almost offhand author's remark about younger military officers wanting more of this type. Unfortunately, if I remember history correctly, a lot of such officers are outweighed by civilian ideologues. War is an unfortunate extension of diplomacy when diplomacy fails - the problem is we don't try diplomacy often enough. I suppose the author could have interviewed people who disagree with Fallon's approach, or presented some sort of data to indicate where he is mistaken, but I'm not sure that works in this kind of article.

The author of this opinion piece did not do adequate research. Many comments are uninformed but seem written to suit his prejudices. President Bush has always encouraged multiple options and viewpoints on major issues, as a quick read of any of a dozen or more books by Woodward and others will make obvious. They point out that Bush defers to the military professionals, unlike predecessors like Clinton, Carter and Johnson. And anyone familiar with politics would know that Bush is not a neocon and has not had many neocons in his administration. Not much journalistic value here.