I wouldn’t go so far as to say “grossly negligent,” however. At the time I had wondered privately if it was part of a “good cop/bad cop” routine, one Bush has deployed before (like Rumsfeld and Powell). Of course, using a uniformed officer for such a task is highly inappropriate as well.

But, as much as I like him, Fallon is better off outside the Bush administration.

MacArthur was unarguably a brilliant man. We could argue about other characteristics of his, to be sure, but he knew what he was doing with his insubordination. He knew that he was gambling his career on it. His gamble failed, and with it, the seeds of long-standing foreign policy nightmares in N. Korea and China were sown.

Fallon has had an extraordinary career as well. He seems to be honorable enough, as well. I don’t know enough to say whether he or Abizaid were truly any good at what they did. But it seems grossly negligent, considering that Iran may eventually be a threat, to contradict the administration’s policy of keeping all options on the table. All parties will be better off without him there.

Fallon will have an opportunity to talk openly soon enough.