Shuffling the Deck for a New Game

This is a good post by retired Army Colonel Patrick Lang, a onetime intelligence specialist (from his website):

"Among the most valuable indicators of intentions are the appointments of senior people to fill leadership positions.

In that regard it must be said that the appointment of Admiral William Fallon the the post of Commander, US Central Command is surely indicative of intentions.

This distinguished officer's career lay altogether within the field of naval aviation and latterly of joint staff and command functions. His official biography is posted below.

It makes very little sense that a person with this background should be appointed to be theater commander in a a theater in which two essentially "ground" wars are being fought unless it is intended to conduct yet another war which will be different in character."

***

Okay.

Bush started shuffling the cards earlier this week. Let's see what he's done so far:

1. Replaced General Abizaid with Admiral Fallon. Refer to Pat Lang's post above. Why put an Admiral in charge of what is essentially a land conflict?
a. Bush wanted a Yes man?
b. Bush wanted to expedite Abizaid's retirement?
c. Bush wants to attack Iran?

2. Replaced General Casey (who advocated withdrawal) with Lt. General Petraeus (who is a supposed counterinsurgency 'expert').
a. Well, we do know there's a "surge" (read, escalation) coming.
b. The emphasis will probably be on urban pacification. Unfortunately, the insurgency has grown out of our control.

3. Move John Negroponte from DNI to State as Condi's #2. His sole focus will be on Iraq.
a. As Ambassador to Honduras, Negroponte was hip-deep in the establishment and operation of death squads in Honduras and El Salvador. With the proliferation of sectarian death squads in Iraq, this may be his area of expertise.

So, if this were a poker game, I'd say that Bush is trying to deal himself a winning hand. Unfortunately, he's trying to bluff with a pair of twos - and everyone but him knows it.