US:THE SURPRISE resignation on Tuesday of Admiral William Fallon, the US military commander in the Middle East, followed a magazine article that portrayed the former fighter pilot as a lone officer taking on US president George Bush over his Iran policy.
In the flattering Esquire magazine article, Thomas Barnett, a former professor at the Naval War College, described the admiral as "the rarest of creatures in the Bush universe: the good cop on Iran, and a man of strategic brilliance".
In accepting the resignation with "regret", US defence secretary Robert Gates disagreed that Admiral Fallon held different views on Iran to the president, but added that his resignation was the "right thing to do".
"I don't know whether he was misinterpreted or whether people attributed views to him that were not his views. But clearly it was a concern that he had," said Mr Gates. "We have tried between us to put this misperception behind us, over a period of months and, frankly, just have not been successful in doing so."
Mr Gates said suggestions that the resignation suggested the US was preparing for war with Iran were "ridiculous", comments later echoed by Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs.
Some military experts who did not believe Admiral Fallon was out of step with the administration on Iran still believed the article - which described him as "brazenly challenging his commander in chief" on Iran policy - would make it untenable for him to keep his position.
That view was compounded by the impression that Admiral Fallon had co-operated with the author, who conducted several interviews with him and accompanied him on a trip to Egypt.
Many current and former officers believe Admiral Fallon was not a dove on Iran but was concerned that belligerent rhetoric from the US could provoke an accidental war.
Admiral Fallon last week distanced himself from the Esquire profile, telling the Washington Post that it was "really disrespectful and ugly". But in announcing his resignation, he said the perception that he was at odds with the administration was making it impossible to do his job.
Admiral Mullen told a small group of reporters on Tuesday that Admiral Fallon had taken the decision to resign on his own. He said his shoes would be difficult to fill, particularly at such a critical time for the US in the Middle East. "It is a tough job at a very critical time," he said.
Admiral Mullen added that he was aware the White House had expressed displeasure to Admiral Fallon over some of his Iran comments.
While the uproar surrounding the Esquire profile provoked his resignation, Admiral Fallon's positions had rankled with the White House on several occasions in recent months.
Officials were upset in November when he suggested to the Financial Times that the administration's belligerent rhetoric on Iran was "not particularly helpful". -