Pentagon Politics

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In his testimony today, Gen Petraeus was asked about a Washington Post story over the weekend that reported on a “schism” between Petraeus and his immediate superior, CENTCOM commander Adm. William Fallon. The Post quoted a senior civilian official as saying about the relationship between Petraeus and Fallon, “Bad relations? That’s the understatement of the century. . . . If you think Armageddon was a riot, that’s one way of looking at it.”

In response to questioning today, Petraeus denied that there was any disagreement among top military officials about his recommendation on how to proceed in Iraq, saying he had the support of both Fallon and Joint Chiefs. Take a look at the exchange.

Given the usual difficulties of sorting through internal Pentagon politics, we may have to stash this one away for the historians to unpack later. But something tells me there is more here than what Petraeus is letting on.

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