Robert Gates

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Condoleezza Rice Urges Bold Shift on Ukraine
Condoleezza Rice Urges
Bold Shift on Ukraine
OPINION
Jan 8, 2023 9:35 AM CST

Condoleezza Rice Urges Bold Shift on Ukraine

She and Robert Gates call for 'dramatic increase' in US military aid and equipment

(Newser) - By nearly all accounts, Russia's war in Ukraine is not going Vladimir Putin's way. But two former diplomatic heavyweights for the US warn that it probably won't last. In their Washington Post op-ed, former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and former defense chief Robert Gates note that...

From All 10 Ex-Defense Secretaries, an 'Exceptional' Op-Ed

They note Biden has won, warn the military has no place getting involved in any election disputes

(Newser) - "The time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived." So reads an unusual op-ed that appeared Sunday in the Washington Post , co-signed by all 10 living ex-defense secretaries. The...

Tillerson Wasn't Trump's Idea. The Source May Surprise

Robert Gates, Condoleezza Rice suggested him: reports

(Newser) - Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state wasn't exactly his—at least not initially. Just two weeks ago, Trump was torn in trying to choose from one of four leading contenders: Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Bob Corker, or David Petreaus. Then the name of Rex Tillerson surfaced. The...

Bob Gates to Boy Scouts: End Ban on Gay Leaders

Group's president says 'status quo cannot be sustained'

(Newser) - Former secretary of Defense and current president of the Boy Scouts of America Robert Gates had some tough talk for his organization today, USA Today reports, telling the Scouts' annual meeting that it was time to set aside the group's controversial ban on gay leaders. "I must speak...

Pete King: White House Breach Was 'Inexcusable'
 Pete King: 
 White House 
 Breach Was 
 'Inexcusable' 
SUNDAY TALK SHOWS
Sep 21, 2014 12:07 PM CDT

Pete King: White House Breach Was 'Inexcusable'

Calls for hearings on failure to stop 'basic' attack

(Newser) - The White House fence-jumper was an "absolutely inexcusable" security breach, and Politico reports that Peter King wasted no time today in calling for a "full investigation into what happened, why it happened and what needs to be done to make sure it never happens again." The New...

Clinton Wasn't Real Keen on Bergdahl Deal

Inside the administration debate

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton offered a less-than-ringing endorsement of the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap yesterday, calling the administration's no-man-left-behind ideal "noble," but adding, "I think we have a long way to go before we really know how this is going to play out." Which isn't surprising,...

Robert Gates: Crimea 'Gone' to Russia
 Robert Gates: 
 Crimea 'Gone' 
 to Russia 
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Mar 9, 2014 1:12 PM CDT

Robert Gates: Crimea 'Gone' to Russia

Former defense sec says critics could lay off Obama while he handles crisis

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin has a new piece of his empire, Robert Gates said today. "I do not believe that Crimea will slip out of Russia's hand," the former defense secretary told Fox News. Asked by Chris Wallace, "You think Crimea's gone?" Gates responded , "I do....

Robert Gates: Obama Bashing 'Was Not Unfair'

Former defense secretary takes on backlash over 'Duty'

(Newser) - Robert Gates today took on the backlash that greeted his memoir, Duty, Politico reports, saying that his criticisms of the Obama administration were relatively restrained and justified. "My one concern was that over the course of 2010 and early 2011, the president began to have his own reservations about...

Gates Book: Obama Lost Faith in Own Afghan Strategy

Ex-defense chief also admires Hillary but thinks Joe Biden is wrong, a lot

(Newser) - A memoir by former defense chief Robert Gates alleges that President Obama lost faith in his own Afghanistan mission, according to accounts in the New York Times and Washington Post . Gates recalls a meeting in 2011 in which Obama expresses frustration with Gen. David Petraeus and Hamid Karzai: “As...

Obama Gives Retiring Gates Medal of Freedom

Today is outgoing defense secretary's last day

(Newser) - President Obama today honored outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates' four decades of service, including the past 4 1/2 years in charge of the Pentagon, by surprising him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest US honor a president can give a civilian. "I can think of no better...

What We've Learned From Robert Gates
 What We've 
 Learned From 
 Robert Gates 
analysis
Jun 28, 2011 7:20 AM CDT

What We've Learned From Robert Gates

A look back at the retiring defense secretary's career

(Newser) - With Robert Gates, who has served eight presidents over four decades, about to retire, the Washington Post looks back at how Gates operated in the Pentagon. He’s been “careful, conservative, and consensus-oriented,” writes Greg Jaffe, and he’s “earned a reputation as the most ruthlessly efficient...

Robert Gates: Taliban Talks 'Preliminary'


 Robert Gates: 
 Taliban Talks 
 'Preliminary' 
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Jun 19, 2011 11:51 AM CDT

Robert Gates: Taliban Talks 'Preliminary'

Says he wouldn't expect real progress until at least winter

(Newser) - Robert Gates confirmed today that the US is in "preliminary" talks with the Taliban, reports the Hill, cautioning that they've only been going on for a "few weeks." Appearing on State of the Union and Fox News Sunday, the outgoing defense secretary said the State Department...

Pentagon: Wait Til Fall 2012 to End Afghanistan Surge

Military pushes for slow withdrawal as Obama weighs next move

(Newser) - The military has called on President Obama to keep the Afghanistan troop surge in place until the fall of next year, ensuring that many of the 33,000 extra troops remain in the country for the next two fighting seasons, when the weather is warm. The military wants to avoid...

Pakistan Army Rails Against US Ties

Relations between US and Pakistani security forces hit nadir

(Newser) - The US-Pakistan security alliance has deteriorated so badly that Pakistani officers actually jeered top general Ashfaq Kayani at a town-hall-style meeting last month, demanding to know why Pakistan still supports US policy, officials tell the Washington Post . That kind of open criticism “is something no Pakistani military commander has...

Gates: NATO Full of Freeloaders

Outgoing defense secretary says US picking up tab for Europe's defense

(Newser) - Robert Gates had some harsh words for NATO today, saying that many of the US’ allies are “apparently willing and eager for American taxpayers to assume the growing security burden left by reductions in European defense budgets.” Gates was speaking at a think tank in Brussels, where his...

Pentagon Opposes Quick Afghanistan Exit

'We shouldn't let up on the gas,' Gates warns

(Newser) - The military is digging in its heels against the idea of a swift withdrawal from Afghanistan. “I think we shouldn’t let up on the gas too much, at least for the next few months,” Robert Gates told troops yesterday, as he finished his final trip to Afghanistan...

Obama Weighs Quicker Afghanistan Pullout

But Gates, Petraeus point to risks

(Newser) - With Osama bin Laden dead and war costs increasing, the Obama administration is weighing a sharper drawdown of troops from Afghanistan than it had planned, the New York Times reports. But the issue is still very much up in the air, and outgoing defense secretary Robert Gates advocates slower steps....

Robert Gates Makes Farewell Afghanistan Trip

Defense secretary underscores need for success

(Newser) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates flew to Afghanistan today in an unannounced visit to say farewell to US troops and Afghan leaders. Gates, who is retiring at the end of the month, planned to meet with soldiers and Marines in eastern and southern Afghanistan. He also was holding talks with...

Rebels Leave White House Without Recognition

Libyan coalition fails to secure recognition as legitimate interim governing body

(Newser) - Libyan rebels just can't quite get what they want from the White House. A meeting between a delegation of rebels and US national security advisers yesterday ended with a statement from the US calling the Libyan Transitional National Council a “legitimate and credible interlocutor of the Libyan people”...

Obama Situation Room: Inside the Tense 40 Minutes as President Monitored Raid on Osama bin Laden
 40 Tense Minutes 
 Inside the Situation Room 
'We've ID'D GERONIMO'
May 2, 2011 6:41 PM CDT

40 Tense Minutes Inside the Situation Room

Obama's order was fraught with risk

(Newser) - It was a daring gambit: Invade another nation's airspace, raid a compound, bag the world's most notorious terrorist, and get your troops out alive—all on the 50% to 80% chance Osama bin Laden was even there to begin with. Once President Obama ordered the raid on the...

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