Stabilizing Iraq will require "new and different actions" to improve security and promote political reconciliation, a top US commander to lead US forces in the Middle East said Tuesday.
At his confirmation hearing, Adm. William Fallon also told the Senate Armed Services Committee that it may be time to "redefine the goals" in Iraq.
"I believe the situation in Iraq can be turned around, but time is short," he said.
Fallon, 62, who currently is commander of US forces in the Pacific, said he saw a need for a comprehensive approach to Iraq, including economic and political actions to resolve a problem that requires more than military force.
"What we have been doing has not been working," he said. "We have got to be doing, it seems to me, something different."
Fallon said that "we probably erred in our assessment" of the Iraqi government's ability to rebuild its society and establish a peaceful order after the overthrow of the government of Saddam Hussein nearly four years ago.
"One of the things in the back of my mind that I'd like to get answered is to meet with the people that have been working this issue -- particularly our ambassadors, our diplomats -- to get an assessment of what's realistic and what's practical," Fallon said.
"And maybe we ought to redefine the goals here a bit and do something that's more realistic in terms of getting some progress and then maybe take on the other things later," he added.
Fallon was nominated by US President George W. Bush to replace Army Gen. John Abizaid, who is retiring after nearly four years as commander of Central Command.
Some were surprised when Bush chose Fallon to lead Central Command, in light of the protracted land wars it is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. He would be the first Navy admiral to hold the position.
The Central Command is responsible for US military operations and relations in 27 countries stretching from the Horn of Africa, through the Middle East to Central Asia, including Afghanistan and Pakistan.
(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2007)
