THE departure of the last American troops from Iraq brings relief to a nation that has endured its most painful war since Vietnam. But the event is momentous for another reason. The invasion of Iraq was the most recent example of an all-out war between two national armies. And it could very well be the last one. The idea that war is obsolescent may...
If you listen to defense industry lobbyists, hawks in Congress and the Pentagon, the sky is falling and with it, American security. It isn't. The failure of the ''supercommittee'' to reach a deficit agreement is supposed to trigger $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts in federal spending over the next decade, nearly $500 billion of that from the basic...
ERBIL, Iraq -- The received wisdom in Washington when Leon E. Panetta took Robert M. Gates's place as defense secretary was that the Pentagon was exchanging one low-intensity Beltway professional for another. Well, yes and no. Mr. Panetta may be Mr. Gates's friend and a longtime creature of the capital, but his inaugural trip to Iraq and...
Robert Michael Gates (født 25. september 1943 i Wichita i Kansas, USA) er USAs forsvarsminister.
Han var direktør for CIA fra 6. november 1991 til 20. januar 1993.
Den 8. november 2006 blev han indstillet af præsident George W. Bush til at efterfølge Donald Rumsfeld som USA's forsvarsminister. Senatet godkendte indstillingen den 6. december 2006 med stemmetallene 95–2. Gates blev indsat som forsvarsminister den 18. december 2006. Robert Gates gik af som forsvarsminister den 1. juli 2011 og blev efterfulgt af Leon Panetta.
Den 16. januar gjorde Gates sig uheldig bemærket, da han var ude og kritisere NATO-landenes styrker i Afghanistan. Gates kritiserer NATO-styrkernes indsats - dr.dk/Nyheder/Udland Gates har dog efter stor kritik fra bl.a. danske politikere trukket sine udtalelser tilbage og undskyldt over for NATO heriblandt Danmark. Gates trækker Nato-kritik tilbage - Politiken.dk Fold ud