America’s Wolverine to Step Down by Bing West, National Review.
On December 6, Defense Secretary Panetta nominated General Lloyd Austin to lead the Central Command that is responsible for operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan. This cuts short by several months the tenure of the current commander, General Jim Mattis, at CentCom headquarters in Tampa...
It would have been prudent to keep Mattis in command until the normal rotation next summer, particularly if the administration really fears an Israeli strike against Iran during this spring.