At Least Trump 'Hasn't Started Any New Wars'

The Hill: Former Defense Secretary Gates: 'At least' Trump 'hasn't started any new wars'

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday offered measured support for President Trump, noting that "at least" the president hasn't started a war and has funded the military.

Chuck Todd, host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” asked Gates if his assessment of Trump has changed since 2016, when he said Trump “is stubbornly uninformed about the world and how to lead our country” and “temperamentally unsuited to lead our men and women in uniform.”

“I would say this, Chuck. First of all, unlike his three predecessors, and I write about this in the book, at least he hasn’t started any new wars and he has robustly funded the military,” Gates responded.

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WNU Editor: The expectation when President Trump was inaugurated was that he would get the U.S. into a war during his term. Iran and North Korea was on the top of everyone's list. They were wrong.

Former Defense Secretary Of Defense Gates: 'Real Risk The Taliban May Retake Afghanistan If The U.S. Withdraws'

Face The Nation: Former defense secretary: "Real risk" of Vietnam-like scenario after U.S. pulls out of Afghanistan

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes there is a "real risk" that if American troops are pulled out of Afghanistan, the Taliban might retake control of the country. He told "Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan that the U.S. should ensure that the Afghan government is stable before bringing American forces home. There are currently 12,000 U.S. service members stationed there.

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Update #1: Gates: 'Real risk' Taliban can retake Afghanistan if US troops withdrawn (The Hill)
Update #2: 'Real Risk': Ex-DoD Chief Says Taliban Can Retake Afghanistan After US Withdraws (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: Why the CBS interview with a former Defense Secretary now? Why push the case for U.S. soldiers to remain in Afghanistan? Is this the best that the Washington foreign policy establishment can do?

Former Defense Secretary Gates Believes The Next President Should 'Lay Down A Line' With Russia

Photo: Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

CBS: Former Defense Secretary: Next president must "lay down a line" with Russia

Whoever wins in November will face a world of trouble on day one of the presidency. Margaret Brennan spoke with former Defense Secretary Robert Gates about one of the biggest challenges -- America's strained relations with Russia.

ROBERT GATES: I think Putin is one of these leaders who will push forward as long as there's no significant resistance. But he's not suicidal, he's not delusional, he's not crazy. He's a very calculating person who is playing a very poor hand with great skill.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Is Putin gaining influence?

GATES: I think that Putin certainly has reasserted Russia's role. You know, we basically excluded them from the Middle East in the early 1970's and they've had no real influence or presence there ever since, until the intervention in Syria. Now it's pretty clear that any negotiation on Syria, if there ever is one, Russia will be at the table.

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WNU editor: "Lay down a line" or what .... this type of rhetoric is not going to be helpful if one wants to lower tensions with Russia.

Former CIA Director And Secretary Of Defense Gates: 'China, Iran, And Russia Probably Had Access To Hillary Clinton's Private Server'

Daily Mail: Former secretary of defense says 'odds are pretty high' China, Iran and Russia got access to Hillary Clinton's private email server:

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday said he believed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's secret email server was hacked by either China, Iran or Russia.

'I think the odds are pretty high,' Gates said in an interview with Hugh Hewitt. 'The Pentagon acknowledges that they get attacked about 100,000 times a day.'

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Update #1: Gates: Iran, Russia, China Likely Compromised Hillary Clinton’s Server -- Washington Free Beacon
Update #2: Former Sec Def Robert Gates: ‘Odds Are Pretty High’ Russia, China, And Iran Accessed Hillary’s Server -- Daily Caller
Update #3: Did Russia read Hillary Clinton's emails? Robert Gates says the odds are 'pretty high.' -- The Week

WNU Editor: Being a former CIA Director .... Robert Gates probably knows what he is talking about. But common sense dictates that she would be a high priority target for Russia/China/Iran and a lot of other countries .... with teams just dedicated to try and access her communications. Considering the fact that this was on a "public" server, and that she was using it regularly, I would be shocked if none of these countries were successful in obtaining some form of access.

Update: This sounds like a "dog ate my homework" excuse .... State tries to delay Clinton email release, blaming snowstorm (The Hill).

Former U.S. Sec. Of Defense Robert Gates: Russia Has Given The Chinese The Green Light To Seize The Senkaku Islands.

Robert Gates, November 17, 2010 (photo: US Army)

Gates: US Response To Russia's Use Of Force Likely To Lead To 'More Crises And Conflict' -- Robert Gates, Stars and Stripes/Stars and Stripes

I think an actual invasion would be a very critical matter and a source of great concern. But I think — I think it's a concern for the same reason that the invasion of Crimea or the seizure of Crimea is a concern. And there are really two broad principles that Putin has violated and that ought to worry the West a lot.

One is that he [Putin] is upending the post-Cold War order which basically acknowledged that border changes in Europe would only be done by negotiation, by consent of all the parties involved ... [which was] a huge step forward in preserving the peace.

The second principle that's been violated is this settling of an old revanchist score by force ... The idea that you can settle these territorial disputes or old claims to territory by force is a huge problem when you consider all of the kinds of disputes there are like that not only in Europe but in Asia and elsewhere.

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My Comment: There is some truth to what Robert Gates is saying. I follow the news in China religiously, and there are now discussions in China that if Russia can do what they did with Crimea .... why not China with the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands.

Former U.S. Secretary Of Defense Robert Gates: U.S. Prevented South Korean Retaliatory Air Strike On North Korea In 2010

Koreas Close To War In 2010 -- Korea Times

South and North Korea were about to engage in a full-fledged military conflict in November 2010 following Pyongyang’s shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, according to a memoir by former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

On Nov. 23 2010, North Korean artillery batteries bombarded the border island in the Yellow Sea, killing four people, including two civilians.

The newly published tell-all book said that South Korea’s restraint had reached its limit as the artillery barrage followed the sinking of the South’s naval ship Cheonan by a torpedo from a North Korean submarine eighth months earlier. The sinking claimed the lives of 46 sailors.

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Update: Gates Says US Prevented South Korea Airstrike on North -- Defense News/AFP

My Comment: Here is one more tidbit of information from Robert Gates on the Korean Peninsula .... In memoir, Gates calls ex-Korean President Roh "crazy" -- Global Post/Yonhap News

Does President Obama Have A 'Passion' For Military Issues?

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Dr. Robert M. Gates (Reuters/Hyungwon Kang)

Gates: ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Fight Was Only Time Obama Showed ‘Passion’ For Military Issues -- FOX News

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates sharply questions President Obama's "passion" for military matters in his forthcoming memoir, and claims that practically the only time he saw that in the president was during his push to repeal "don't ask, don't tell."

The former Pentagon chief said in an interview aired Sunday that he was "disturbed" by Obama's "absence of passion" when it came to his military strategy. But in the book, "Duty," reviewed by Fox News, Gates hit Obama harder -- and in personal terms -- by contrasting his style with that of former President George W. Bush.

"One quality I missed in Obama was passion, especially when it came to the two wars," Gates wrote. "In my presence, Bush -- very unlike his father -- was pretty unsentimental. But he was passionate about the war in Iraq; on occasion, at a Medal of Honor ceremony or the like, I would see his eyes well up. I worked for Obama longer than Bush, and I never saw his eyes well up."

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My Comment: The passion is there .... I saw it 2-3 years ago when he was under enormous political/military/and media pressure to deploy U.S. soldiers in an Afghan surge ..... a policy and decision that Robert Gates himself has come out in support of. But President Obama has always made it very clear that his focus has always been on changing/transforming the U.S. .... and on this issue he has been very passionate about.

A Commentary From Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

CHAIN OF COMMAND: President Obama huddles with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in the White House Situation Room, April 2011. The White House

The Wars of Robert Gates -- Robert Gates, Wall Street Journal

On Afghanistan, Obama was caught between his generals' advice and his advisers' political worries

I had been the secretary of defense for just over two years on Jan. 21, 2009, but on that day I again became the outsider. The Obama administration housed a web of long-standing relationships—from Democratic Party politics and the Clinton administration—about which I was clueless. I was also a geezer in the new administration. Many influential appointees below the top level, especially in the White House, had been undergraduates—or even in high school—when I had been CIA director. No wonder my nickname in the White House soon was Yoda, the ancient Jedi teacher in "Star Wars."

For the first several months, it took a lot of discipline to sit quietly at the table as everyone from President Obama on down took shots at President Bush and his team. Sitting there, I would often think to myself, Am I invisible?

During these excoriations, there was never any acknowledgment that I had been an integral part of that earlier team. Discussions in the Situation Room allowed no room for discriminating analysis: Everything was awful, and Obama and his team had arrived just in time to save the day.

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My Comment: A part of me hopes and prayers that Robert Gate's analysis on the Obama administration is wrong .... but he was in the inside privy to everything .... in short .... he saw and heard everything. The only question that Robert Gate's has not answered (and one that I would love to hear) is why did he not resign earlier and/or why did he not refuse President Obama's request to stay at the Pentagon for a few more years.?

Some More Robert Gates Revelations

10 Gates Gripes You Haven’t Heard Yet -- Margaret Slattery and Blake Hounshell, Politico Magazine

Bob Gates roiled Washington this week with Duty, his unvarnished memoir of his tenure as secretary of defense for George W. Bush and Barack Obama. The book doesn’t come out until Jan. 14, but many newsworthy bits have already made headlines, from Gates’s voluminous complaints about President Obama’s wartime leadership to his bitter criticisms of Congress, which he rips as “uncivil, incompetent in fulfilling basic constitutional responsibilities, micro-managerial, parochial, hypocritical, egotistical, thin-skinned, often putting self (and reelection) before country.” Here are 10 Gates gripes that haven’t made the rounds yet.

On bombing Syria’s nuclear reactor:

Beginning in April 2007, when the Israelis presented the Bush administration with evidence that the Syrian regime was building a nuclear reactor, a debate broke out over whether the United States should take it out, as Israeli officials urged. At one point, Gates relays, President Bush pulled him aside and said he appreciated the secretary’s concerns about an unprovoked U.S. strike: “He knew that [national security adviser Stephen] Hadley, [Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice, and I had discussed the ‘Tojo option’—referring to the Japanese prime minister who ordered the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor—earlier that morning and simply said, ‘I’m not going to do that.’” Gates also complains about the Israeli government’s influence in the White House, especially through Vice President Dick Cheney. “The United States was being held hostage to Israeli decision making,” he writes.

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My Comment: I would not call these "10 Gate Gripes" .... I would call them disturbing revelations on how U.S. government policy has been conducted for the past few years.

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates: Pakistan Is Not A U.S. Ally

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates (right) hosts a meeting in the Pentagon with Chief of the Pakistani Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani (2nd from right). Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen (2nd from left) and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy (left) also participated (20 October 2010). Wikipedia

Robert Gates: Pakistan 'Really No Ally At All' -- Ankit Panda, The Diplomat

Robert Gates doesn’t trust Pakistan and neither should the United States.

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has been making splashes in the media ahead of the release of his memoir of his time in office, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War. While much attention has been drawn to Gates’ critiques of the Obama administration, including the president’s leadership style, relatively little attention has been given – at least in the U.S. press – to Gates’ thoughts on the ever-troubling U.S.-Pakistan alliance. Gates reveals that in the final years of his tenure, he was convinced of Pakistan’s pursuit of objectives that were directly contrary to U.S. interests, including supporting the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani network, and anti-India terror groups.

In Duty, Gates writes: “Although I would defend them in front of Congress and to the press to keep the relationship from getting worse – and endangering our supply line from Karachi – I knew they were really no ally at all.” Gates qualifies his beliefs about Pakistan’s intentions by referring to a January 2010 visit to the country, when he interacted with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, and Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani – men who are no longer in power in Pakistani politics. Gates, however, remained silent about his reservations on Pakistan during his tenure as Secretary of Defense– always appearing to support the alliance.

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My Comment: I would go one step further .... in some cases they are the enemy.

White House Surprised By Former Defense Secretary Gates' Allegations In His Memoir

'This Is Very, Very Bad': White House Insider Reveals How Obama Was 'Blindsided' By Former Defense Secretary's Damning Allegations In Explosive New Book -- The Daily Mail

* Obama spokesman Jay Carney coyly told reporters that he hasn't 'had time to look at' Robert Gates' new book despite receiving a copy Tuesday night
* The National Security Council's spokeswoman acknowledges that the book 'was read by a member of the White House staff overnight'
* A White House aide says that by Wednesday morning it was broken down for staffers to read and vet
* 'No one saw this coming,' the staffer said
* Gates wrote that Obama ordered troops to Afghanistan despite believing their mission would fail
* He also revealed that both Obama and Hillary Clinton opposed George W. Bush's Iraq surge for political reasons, not on the merits
* The White House has defended Joe Biden against Gates' claim that he is 'wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue'
* Obama held a rare photo call Wednesday with Biden, who is thought to be preparing his own White House run for 2016

The Obama administration was blindsided' by bombshell accusations in a book by former secretary of defense Robert Gates, according to a White House staffer with knowledge of Tuesday's events in the White House.

'They're breaking it down and dividing it up in the West Wing,' the aide told MailOnline, describing a frantic scene. 'No one saw this coming.'

The source requested anonymity since he is not authorized to speak publicly.

Jay Carney, the White House's press secretary, opened Wednesday's press briefing by asking reporters, 'Read any good books lately?'

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My Comment: What's my take .... nothing that I have read so far has surprised me. There are no new revelations (for me) in this book .... and if anything .... I am deeply disappointed in Robert Gates. He should have resigned when he found himself in a position where he no longer had confidence in the President. Instead .... he choose to stay and keep his thoughts to himself until he had left the administration and finished his book.

Commentaries And Reactions To Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Political Memoir (Updated)

Robert Gates Memoir Shocks Washington -- Husna Haq, Christian Science Monitor

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates is the first to offer a scathing critique of President Obama and his administration from within the Cabinet.

As far as political memoirs go, this one is a bombshell.

Shockwaves are already rippling through Washington as early reports circulate of former Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ forthcoming memoir, in which he slams Congress and former colleagues in the White House over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War” is set to be released Jan. 14. The Wall Street Journal ran an excerpt Wednesday.

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Commentaries And Reactions To Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Memoir

Robert Gates memoir: Top 5 bombshells -- Anna Mulrine, Christian Science Monitor
Speed Read: Juiciest Bits From Secretary of Defense Bob Gates’ ‘Duty’ -- William O'Connor, Daily Beast
5 takeaways from Robert Gates' explosive new memoir -- Jon Terbush, The Week
Top 10 Revelations From Robert Gates’s Memoir -- Wall Street Journal
Bill Daley, David Axelrod criticize Robert Gates book -- Politico
Robert Gates: Barack Obama allies hit back at criticism from former defence secretary -- Raf Sanchez, The Telegraph
Robert Gates´s memoirs add to the sense that Obama´s presidency is unraveling -- Peter Foster, The Telegraph
Why Gates and Obama didn't see eye to eye -- David Rothkopf, CNN
The Insiders: Gates should have waited -- Ed Rogers, Washington Post
Does Robert Gates memoir hint at Obama's next Afghanistan moves? -- Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor
Robert Gates: The Iraq War Undermined U.S. Efforts in Afghanistan -- Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic
Gates' tell-all rattles White House, Congress -- CNN
Robert Gates Thinks Obama Was Right. So Why Is He So Down On Him? -- Kevin Drum, Mother Jones
First Thoughts: Two differing views on Gates' memoir -- Chuck Todd/Mark Murray/Domenico Montanaro, NBC News
What is Robert Gates really upset about? -- Mark Mardell, BBC
The truth hurts: Why we need to hear from Gates on Obama's missteps -- Richard Grenell, FOX News
In Defense of Obama on the Gates Memoir -- Ron Fournier, The National
Obama agenda: Et tu, Bob Gates? -- NBC
Ex-Obama aide: Gates book is 'disservice' -- USA Today
Robert Gates Pulls No Punches -- Matt Purple, Amercian Spectator
Book review: ‘Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War’ by Robert M. Gates -- Greg Jaffe, Washington Post
Krauthammer on Gates' revelations about Obama: 'How can a commander-in-chief do that?' -- FOX News
Why Does Obama Want to Extend a War He Doesn’t Believe In? -- George Zornick, The Nation
Former Defense Secretary Bob Gates' Memoir Doesn't Make Anyone Look Good -- Government Executive
The Day Bob Gates Almost Quit -- Kevin Baron, Defense One
Republicans use Gates’ new book to hammer Clinton, Biden -- CNN
Bob Woodward's Incoherent Afghanistan Scoop Shows His Anti-Obama Bias -- Isaac Chotiner, New Republic
How Bob Gates’s memoir could haunt Hillary in 2016 -- Chris Cillizza, Washington Post
Robert Gates was wrong on the most important issue he ever faced -- Max Fisher, Washington Post

Commentaries And Reactions To Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Memoir

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Dr. Robert M. Gates (Reuters/Hyungwon Kang)

Speed Read: Juiciest Bits From Secretary of Defense Bob Gates’ ‘Duty’ -- William O'Connor, Daily Beast

In his eagerly anticipated memoir ‘Duty,’ former Defense Secretary Robert Gates pulls no punches about President Obama, a threat from David Petraeus, and Nancy Pelosi’s bad side.

Famous for the decisions he made in two wars as well as for serving two presidents of opposing parties, Robert Gates’s memoir Duty leaves little room for misunderstanding how he saw people or events during his time as secretary of defense. Here are some of the juiciest bits from the memoir.

He Wasn’t Awed by Obama

Whether it was his age (his nickname in the Obama administration became Yoda) or that he was a remnant of the Bush administration, Gates writes that he initially felt somewhat out of place. When he was in meetings during the first half-year and staffers would hit the Bush team, Gates wondered, “Am I invisible?” He disapproved of their arguments that the Bush team had destroyed relations around the world, and writes that “discussions in the Situation Room allowed no room for discriminating analysis: Everything was awful, and Obama and his team had arrived just in time to save the day.”

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Commentaries And Reactions To Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Memoir

5 takeaways from Robert Gates' explosive new memoir -- Jon Terbush, The Week
Top 10 Revelations From Robert Gates’s Memoir -- Wall Street Journal
Book review: ‘Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War’ by Robert M. Gates -- Greg Jaffe, Washington Post
Krauthammer on Gates' revelations about Obama: 'How can a commander-in-chief do that?' -- FOX News
Why Does Obama Want to Extend a War He Doesn’t Believe In? -- George Zornick, The Nation
Former Defense Secretary Bob Gates' Memoir Doesn't Make Anyone Look Good -- Government Executive
The Day Bob Gates Almost Quit -- Kevin Baron, Defense One
Republicans use Gates’ new book to hammer Clinton, Biden -- CNN
Bob Woodward's Incoherent Afghanistan Scoop Shows His Anti-Obama Bias -- Isaac Chotiner, New Republic
How Bob Gates’s memoir could haunt Hillary in 2016 -- Chris Cillizza, Washington Post
Robert Gates was wrong on the most important issue he ever faced -- Max Fisher, Washington Post

WNU Editor: I expect more commentaries and reactions in the next day or two. This post will be updated on Wednesday at 17:00 EST.

The White House Responds To Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Memoir

White House Disputes Claims In Gates' Critical Book -- USA Today

The White House disputes claims by former Defense secretary Robert Gates that President Obama has lost faith in his Afghanistan policy.

"It is well known that the president has been committed to achieving the mission of disrupting, dismantling and defeating al-Qaeda, while also ensuring that we have a clear plan for winding down the war, which will end this year," National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement Tuesday.

Hayden said the president "deeply appreciates" Gates' service in the Pentagon and "welcomes differences of view among his national security team, which broaden his options and enhance our policies."

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More News On The White House Responding To Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Memoir

Statement: White House Responds to Robert Gates’s Memoir -- Wall Street Journal
White House responds to Gates’s criticism of Biden -- Washington Post
White House backs Joe Biden against Bob Gates comments -- Politico
WHITE HOUSE: Bob Gates Is Completely Wrong On Joe Biden -- Business Insider
White House Defends Joe Biden From Gates Criticism -- Time
White House allies rebuke Gates criticism -- CNN

My Comment: I did not expect the White House to come out and give a ringing endorsement of Robert Gates' book.

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates: Hillary Clinton And President Obama Opposed The Iraq Troop Surge To Look Good Politically

Hillary Clinton And Obama Admitted They Opposed Iraq Troop Surge Only To Look Good Politically, Claims 'Dismayed' Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates In Damning New Book -- Daily Mail

* Robert Gates, secretary of defense under Barack Obama and George W. Bush, writes that Hillary Clinton made a callous political move in 2006
* She announced her opposition to Bush's Iraq troop 'surge' just before entering the presidential race
* Gates writes that she admitted making that choice in order to avoid being politically outflanked by Obama as they entered the 2007 primary season
* The revelation could prove problematic for Clinton as she prepares what political observers see as a second run at the White House in 2016
* The former defense secretary also says Obama believed his own troop surge – the move of 30,000 troops into Afghanistan – would fail

Hillary Rodham Clinton, a likely Democratic Party standard-bearer in the 2016 presidential contest, staked out her military-related positions in the 2008 race based on how they would play politically, according to a former secretary of defense who served in both the Obama and Bush administrations.

Describing a 'remarkable' exchange he witnessed, Robert Gates writes in a book due out next week that 'Hillary told the president that her opposition to the [2007] surge in Iraq had been political because she was facing him in the Iowa primary.'

Obama, too, 'conceded vaguely that [his] opposition to the Iraq surge had been political,' Gates recounts. 'To hear the two of them making these admissions, and in front of me, was as surprising as it was dismaying.'

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More News On Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' Remarks That Hillary Clinton And President Obama Opposed The Iraq Troop Surge To Look Good Politically

Gates says Obama, Clinton played politics with Iraq war -- Washington Times
Gates: Obama and Clinton admitted opposition to Iraq surge was due to ’08 campaign -- Washington Post
Obama, Clinton opposition to Iraq ‘surge’ was political, ex-Pentagon chief Gates writes -- Market Watch
Gates: Obama, Hillary Said Opposition to Iraq Surge Was 'Political' -- Weekly Standard
Gates: Hillary, Obama Admitted They Opposed Surge for Political Reasons -- NRO

My Comment: When it comes to Washington it is always about politics .... the fact that Robert Gates overheard this being said by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama should not surprise anyone.

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates Provides A Harsh Critique Of President Obama In His Memoir

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates conducts a press conference at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, April 19, 2007. Gates is accompanied by, from left, Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multi-National Forces - Iraq; Maj. Gen. Walter E. Gaskin, commander of Multi-National Forces - Iraq West; Adm. William J. Fallon, commander of U.S. Central Command; Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multi-National Corps - Iraq; and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace. Wikipedia

Robert Gates, Former Defense Secretary, Offers Harsh Critique Of Obama’s Leadership In ‘Duty’ -- Washington Post

In a new memoir, former defense secretary Robert Gates unleashes harsh judgments about President Obama’s leadership and his commitment to the Afghanistan war, writing that by early 2010 he had concluded the president “doesn’t believe in his own strategy, and doesn’t consider the war to be his. For him, it’s all about getting out.”

Leveling one of the more serious charges that a defense secretary could make against a commander in chief sending forces into combat, Gates asserts that Obama had more than doubts about the course he had charted in Afghanistan. The president was “skeptical if not outright convinced it would fail,” Gates writes in “Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War.”

Obama, after months of contentious discussion with Gates and other top advisers, deployed 30,000 more troops in a final push to stabilize Afghanistan before a phased withdrawal beginning in mid-2011. “I never doubted Obama’s support for the troops, only his support for their mission,” Gates writes.

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More News On Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates' Memoir "Duty"

Top 10 Revelations From Robert Gates’s Memoir -- Wall Street Journal
Obama Lost Faith in His Afghan Strategy, Book Asserts -- New York Times
The Quiet Fury of Robert Gates -- Wall Street Journal
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates slams Obama's leadership style in new book -- FOX News
Robert Gates offers criticism of Obama, Biden, praises Hillary -- McClatchy News
Former US defense secretary criticizes Obama administration in new memoir -- The Guardian
Former Defense Secretary Gates Blasts Obama in New Book -- US News and World Report
Barack Obama didn't believe his own war strategy: Robert Gates -- The Australian/AFP
Former Defense Secretary Bob Gates' Memoir Doesn't Make Anyone Look Good -- Government Executive
Afghanistan Games: Robert Gates, Obama, and Karzai -- New Yorker
Gates: Obama “Lost Faith” in his Afghanistan Policy -- Voice of America
Gates: Obama grew frustrated over Afghanistan -- Washington Post
Gates offers critical take on Obama's Afghan policy -- UPI
Obama White House most ‘controlling’ since Nixon, Kissinger - former defense sec -- RT
Gates: Obama lost faith in his Afghanistan policy -- USA Today
Gates dings Obama’s leadership, Biden’s foreign policy chops -- NBC
Former defense secretary doesn’t hold back in coming memoir -- Stars and Stripes
Gates: Obama and Clinton admitted opposition to Iraq surge was due to ’08 campaign -- Washington Post
Obama Called For Criminal Leak Investigation Into New York Times, New Book Claims -- Huffington Post
Gates: Obama wanted criminal investigation of leaks to New York Times -- Politico
Former Secretary Of Defense Bob Gates Basically Calls Joe Biden A National Security Risk -- Business Insider
Bob Gates Memoir Slams Joe Biden for Being ‘Wrong’ on Foreign Policy -- ABC News
Gates Slams Biden in Memoir, Reveals He Nearly Quit -- Time
Joe Biden Wrong All the Time, Says Old Colleague -- New York Magazine
How Bob Gates’s memoir could haunt Hillary in 2016 -- Chris Cillizza, Washington Post
Robert Gates was wrong on the most important issue he ever faced -- Max Fisher, Washington Post

My Comment: Here is an easy prediction .... this will all but guarantee that in the future a newly elected Democrat President will not be re-appointing a Republican to a post that he or she may have had in the prior administration .... after-all .... who needs this type of political blow-back. As to Robert Gate's criticisms of President Obama .... I do not know if they are justified are not .... they are after all his opinions .... but if he felt this strongly he should have resigned in 2010 when he had doubts on President Obama's commitment to the Afghan mission .... but as we now know he choose not to. Bob Woodward's Washington Post column has a few more interesting tidbits of information that will probably coax me to eventually buy and read the book .... but for the moment Woodward's post is a must read. as well as the New York Times review of this book.

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates Hurt In Fall

Photo: Official portrait of United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates Hurt In Fall -- CNN

(CNN) - Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates was back home on Thursday after injuring his neck in a fall on New Year's Day.

Gates accidentally fell and fractured his first vertebrae at his home in Washington state, according to a statement by his office that said nothing more about what occurred.

Gates, 70, was treated at two hospitals, including one in Seattle. He then returned home and was resting comfortably. He is expected to make a full recovery.

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Update: Gates plans book tour while in neck brace -- USA Today

My Comment: His injury will probably receive more coverage than his book.

Do Benghazi Critics Have A "Cartoonish" View Of Military Capability?

Gates: Some Benghazi Critics Have "Cartoonish" View Of Military Capability -- CBS

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates forcefully defended the Obama administration on Sunday against charges that it did not do enough to prevent the tragedy in Benghazi, telling CBS' "Face the Nation" that some critics of the administration have a "cartoonish impression of military capabilities and military forces."

Gates, a Republican who was appointed by then-President George W. Bush in 2006 and agreed to stay through more than two years of President Obama's first term, repeatedly declined to criticize the policymakers who devised a response to the September 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead, including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens.

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More News On Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' Interview On CBS

Gates Backs Obama Administration’s Handling of Benghazi Attack -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Robert Gates: I would have handled Benghazi the same way -- Salon
Gates defends W.H. on Benghazi -- Politico
Robert Gates: Direct Intervention By U.S. In Syria Would Be A Mistake (VIDEO) -- Huffington Post/AP
Gates Preaches Caution on Libya, Syria -- Military.com
Gates defends Benghazi response, says critics have ‘cartoonish’ view of military -- The Hill
Gates says critics have 'cartoonish' view of military -- UPI
Robert Gates on Benghazi, Syria, and America’s Biggest Threat -- Micah Zenko, Council On Foreign Relations

Former U.S. Secretary Of Defense Gates: Military Strike On Iran Would Be "Catastrophic"

Ehud Barak and Robert M. Gates at the Pentagon. November, 2009. Wikipedia

Gates: Strike On Iran To Have Catastrophic Results -- YNet News

Former US defense secretary warns neither Israel nor US is capable of obliterating Iran's atom program, says attack 'would make nuclear Iran inevitable'.

WASHINGTON - Former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned on Thursday that an Israeli or American strike on Iran would only bolster the Islamic Republic's drive for a nuclear weapon.

Neither Israel nor the US has the capabilities to obliterate Iran's atom program, he said, and a military operation against the country's nuclear facilities "would make a nuclear-armed Iran inevitable. They would just bury the program deeper and make it more covert."

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More News On Former U.S. Secretary Of Defense Gates Comments On Iran

Gates warns against attack on Iran -- UPI
Ex-SecDef Gates: Strike on Iran could be ‘catastrophic’ -- The Back Channel
Gates: Israel incapable of obliterating Iran's atom program -- Jerusalem Post
Gates: No blank check from US to Israel on Iran -- Jerusalem Post
Robert Gates: War on Iran Would Be ‘Catastrophic,’ Make Tehran Nukes ‘Inevitable’ -- Antiwar.com

Robert Gates Starts To Speak His Mind

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates greets President Barack Obama upon his arrival at the Pentagon for the Armed Forces Farewell Tribute to honor Gates, June 30, 2011. DOD photo by Cherie Cullen

Gates Starts To Say What He Really Thinks -- Washington Post

Add former Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to the list of retired top officials who see the current American political scene as dysfunctional and dangerous.

“As a result of several long-building, polarizing trends in American politics and culture, we have lost the ability to execute even the basic functions of government, much less solve the most difficult and divisive problems facing the country,” Gates said last week at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia where he received that group’s Liberty Medal.

He cited two causes worth considering.

Read more ....

My Comment: So Robert Gates looks .... longingly to decades past when three television networks and a handful of major newspapers dominated national coverage and “to a considerable degree, filtered extreme or vitriolic points of view.”

Sighhh .... I do not miss those times, nor the media coverage from the former Soviet Union when there was a monopoly there (actually there still is, but not as bad as during the Soviet times when I was there). As to view that the current American political scene is dysfunctional and dangerous .... yes it is .... but that is why we have elections .... government dysfunction and gridlock are ultimately solve by people voting freely and unencumbered by what the political class(es) may think.