U.S. military chief in Iraq, Afghanistan to quit

The military commander responsible for overseeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan announced plans to resign today, citing widespread speculation that he disagrees with Bush administration policy in the Middle East.

Even as he stepped aside, Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, head of U.S. Central Command, insisted that he had no substantive differences with the White House on how to proceed in the region.

But in a statement issued by his headquarters, Fallon said news reports of “a disconnect between my views and the president’s policy objectives” had become a distraction at a crucial time, coming a month before highly anticipated recommendations on the way forward in Iraq from U.S. officials in Baghdad.

“Although I don’t believe there have ever been any differences about the objectives of our policy in the Central Command area of responsibility, the simple perception that there is makes it difficult for me to effectively serve America’s interests there,” Fallon said.

At a hastily called Pentagon news conference, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he had accepted Fallon’s resignation and agreed that the ongoing speculation over a split between the Centcom commander and the White House had become a distraction.

“Adm. Fallon reached this difficult decision entirely on his own,” Gates said. “I believe it was the right thing to do, even though I do not believe there are, in fact, significant differences between his views and administration policy.”

peter.spiegel@latimes.com

julian.barnes@latimes.com