Admiral Calls for 'New' Approach in Iraq

Summarized article by Christine Hauser, Washington Post

Navy Admiral William J. Fallon, Jr. went before a Senate Confirmation Hearing today in Washington en route to becoming the new head of United States Central Command -- the region containing both the Iraq and Afghanistan war theaters. Fallon currently serves at the top of the US forces in the Pacific.
"I am under no illusions regarding the magnitude of the tasks and challenges in this region of the world," said Fallon to begin his meeting with representatives of Congress.
Fallon is the second active-duty officer to go through the confirmation process in the last month concering the Iraq situation, and feels a sense of urgency in the region.
"I believe the situation in Iraq can be turned around, but time is short," said Fallon.
He has extensive relationships and experience working with Asian countries on diplomacy, and feels that a key to Iraq success if identifying key leaders and units that can be especially helpful in calming the situation.

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Fallon sure is saying all the right things, but will he able to figure out how to translate that to action? I question whether he has appropriate experience for the escalating situation in Iraq. He also said that he hasn't had much time to come up with a direct strategy -- because of his work in the Pacific. Will that be a problem? Will he be able to apply his diplomatic relationships and style of leadership to this situation? It appears that Adm. Fallon is one of our more qualified individuals for this job, but America still lacks a great grasp on how to handle this type of warfare. Hopefully, Fallon can keep an independent voice and let Congress and America really know what needs to happen.