Fred Kaplan / Foreign Policy: The Transformer? ?? Bob Gates never thought he'd be Barack Obama's defense secretary.? Now, in an exclusive interview, the most revolutionary Pentagon leader since Robert McNamara tells FP why he said yes, when he'll get out of Washington, and what legacy he hopes to leave behind. Full Story »
Posted by Joey Baker - via Memeorandum
Grat profile of a Defense Secretary Gates. I learned a lot about the man, but I wish the author had approached the whole thing with a bit more skepticism.
If good journalism is dictation ...this is it. I guess everyone in the world thinks preemptive war is a good idea.
I'm sick of warmongers and their apologist....as if killing, threatening and occupying Asian countries was the god given right of the imperial US war machine. Yankee go home. and take the idiots that write suck up articles with you.
Well-written and informative piece from Fred Kaplan an FP magazine on Robert Gates based on an interview. This lengthy piece brought great insights on the job of the secretary of defense of the United States of America, and the mechanism of a department of a country that operates globally, and has to think and act globally.
A nicely detailed overview of Gates' transitional role and his efforts to trim the Pentagon's astronomical expenses. It would be interesting to know who suggested his appointment after the reckless first term aggressive policies of Rumsfeld,... i suspect it might be the elder Bush. The younger Bush was certainly humbled(and Cheney almost mute) during his second term and one got the impression that Gates exacted a carte blanche price for directing the war strategy.
I would give Gates credit for picking up the pieces and sorting out the mess left behind by Rumsfeld. I also think it was wise politically for Obama to reappoint him because I believe it would have been very difficult to achieve the cuts in the Pentagons's pork if he were a Democrat. It would also be nice to know how much he has reigned in on Dick Cheney's contractor buddies and all the billions in unaudited expenses.
Gates has heralded a shift in military planning from the “major combat operations” anticipated in the Cold War to the “asymmetrical conflicts” ... More »
a relevant analysis of robert gates and his strategy as the administration's defense secretary, based on an interview with him and other sources, which, along with the writer's analysis, shows him to be similar in temperament and thoughtfulness to the president. reading this also creates the impression that he will be hard to replace in the job.
This is a well rounded story. It presents the facts without a liberal or conservative slant. Fred Kalpan seems to be a real reporter void of political slant.
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