U.S. Secretary Of Defense Gates Retirement Tour

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates talks with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa after their meetings at Safriyah Palace in Bahrain, March 12, 2011. DOD photo by Cherie Cullen

Robert Gates’s Exit Strategy: No Holds Barred -- Politico

As he eyes the exit, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has embarked on a farewell tour of sorts, offering audiences the clearest picture yet of what he really thinks.

And many don’t like what they’re hearing.

Lawmakers, commentators and factions inside the military-industrial complex are grumbling, quietly and openly, that Gates’s new candor is hurting U.S. interests. Either it sends the wrong message to allies and enemies, they say, or it endangers big-ticket defense programs.

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My Comment: It appears that he is determined to retire from public service. But if President Obama asks him to serve one more year (which is what I am predicting) .... it will be difficult for him to say no.