I'm liking Dr. Gates


----------------------------
Defense: Reaching Across the Aisle on Iraq
—Michael Hirsh
© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.

Oct. 8, 2007 issue - Donald Rumsfeld had little stomach for talking to members of Congress, Democrat or Republican. But his successor as Defense secretary, Robert Gates, can't seem to get enough of them—especially Democrats. This summer, Gates intervened in a nasty spat between his No. 3 deputy, Under Secretary Eric Edelman, a former adviser to Dick Cheney, and Sen. Hillary Clinton after the senator requested a briefing on a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. Edelman accused her of aiding the enemy, and Cheney backed him up. But Gates wrote Clinton a conciliatory letter and ordered Edelman to brief her. Late last week Gates had lunch with the Senate Democratic Policy Committee—something Rumsfeld never did. And within days, administration sources tell NEWSWEEK, Gates is expected to appoint Bill Clinton's former deputy Defense secretary, John Hamre—a highly regarded technocrat—as chairman of his Defense Policy Board, an influential advisory body.

...

Aides to Gates say that his most significant, and least heralded, maneuver is his ongoing effort to find a middle ground that will allow the next president, even a Democratic one, to continue a long-term U.S. presence in Iraq. "A sustainable Iraq policy will require support from both Democrats and Republicans," his spokesman, Bryan Whitman, tells NEWSWEEK. Gates's motivation, aides say, is not only the strains on the Army but also his belief that the Iraq debate has grown too politicized. He wants to "lower the temperature," says a senior Defense official who did not want to be named discussing conversations with the secretary.

That's why Gates is pushing President Bush to sanction even more troop drawdowns than Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the multinational forces in Iraq, has recommended. In his recent congressional testimony, Petraeus called for a reduction to "presurge" levels of 130,000 by July 2008, but he refused to say what would happen after that. Gates quickly overrode his Iraq commander, indicating in comments to reporters that drawdowns would continue at the same rate. His aim: to get below 100,000 troops by the end of 2008, just before the next administration takes over.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21047619/site/newsweek/
-------------------------



to the free iraqis.

Ask not what the USA can do for you, ask what you can do for your own go(*)(*)(*)(*)ed country.

----------------------------
Gates admits rift over Guantánamo
By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington
Updated: 3:12 a.m. ET Oct 2, 2007
Copyright The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved.


Robert Gates, US defence secretary, recently did something that Bush administration cabinet officials rarely do. He aired an inter-agency dispute in public by conceding that he had yet to overcome opposition to closing the controversial US prison at Guantánamo Bay.

When Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, asked Mr Gates - who in March advocated closing Guantánamo - why the Pentagon had not presented Congress with a plan to close the Cuba-based detention facility, the defence secretary was candid. "I would say that I was unable to achieve agreement within the executive branch on how to proceed in this respect," Mr Gates responded. "Quite frankly, I've run into some obstacles from a variety of lawyers and I'm still trying to get past that."

Some officials were surprised that Mr Gates would "show so much leg" in public. It was widely assumed that he was referring to justice department attorneys and David Addington, chief of staff to vice-president Dick Cheney, who opposes closing Guantánamo.

The debate over Guantánamo has intensified since Mr Gates replaced Donald Rumsfeld as defence secretary in December. Along with Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, Mr Gates believes closing the prison would help repair some of the damage it has done to the US image around the world. But he faces opposition from some quarters as officials battle over the options that Stephen Hadley, national security adviser, is preparing for George W. Bush, who himself in June 2006 expressed a desire to close Guantánamo.

The Pentagon plans to bring 80 of the 330 detainees at Guantánamo before military commissions, but legal challenges have hampered the trials from proceeding. While 70 detainees have been slated for release, the Pentagon has had difficulty repatriating them, sometimes because of concern they would be tortured in their home countries and at other times because the home countries will not accept them. One of the biggest challenges is posed by detainees who are considered too dangerous for release, but where there is insufficient evidence for trial.

Most experts assume that the only way the US could close Guantánamo in the near future was by transferring many of the detainees to the US, a process fraught with political and legal issues.
...

While the administration continues to consider its options, it is trying to reduce the population at Guantánamo by repatriating as many detainees as possible. US officials hope that European Union countries that have criticised the facility will do more to help. "European governments privately acknowledge that there are many dangerous individuals in Guantánamo who they don't want to see walking free," said one senior US official.

...

Jennifer Daskal, Washington advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, says that, while the US has created the problem, the international community "could go a long way towards helping Washington by coupling its calls for closure of Guantánamo with concrete actions like a willingness to accept some of the Uighurs or other detainees who cannot be returned to their home countries but are cleared for release".

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21087330/
-----------------------------------------



ugh what a mess. Shoulda just stored these mujuhafooks in some third world hole to begin with. By keeping them off US property, the US govt would have had plausible deniability.

"a willingness to accept some of the Uighurs or other detainees who cannot be returned to their home countries but are cleared for release"


Not in my city!

Well imagine that.. SecDef Gates announces a US troop pullout timeline a few weeks ago and things in Iraq calm down.

So is it...



A) Iraqis finally realize then can't be living on US welfare forever.

or

B) The insurgency is keeping their powder dry until US troops levels are below 100k mark.

or

C) Both.

Looks like SecDef Gates means business.. so far he's asked for the heads of USArmy Maj. Gen.Weightman, and USAF chief of staff Gen."Buzz" Moseley, and USAF Secretary Wynne. His swift direct corrective action and demand for accountability from the chain of command is something I approve of.


I hope Dr.Gates achieves his goal of less that 100k by end of this year.







editoh and which ever administration takes over 2009, Dr.Gates should remain as secdef imo.

__________________
.




"When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission!" -Capt. Zapp Branigan
The United Church of the Latter Day Tangential Tarts

I'm glad to here this from you, and even Obama is talking about keeping Gates. So I guess the whole "surge" which was a huge reason for Gates being brought in has been successful.

Cheers for W!!!

Robert Gates is a wise choice thats fersure. christonacrutch that Rumsfeld was a jackass.

__________________
.




"When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission!" -Capt. Zapp Branigan
The United Church of the Latter Day Tangential Tarts

Woot! Dr.Gates might just be able to do this.






------------------------------------------------
US may cut troop levels in Iraq this fall


AP - The Pentagon's top military officer says he expects to be able to recommend further troop reductions in Iraq this fall. Admiral Mike Mullen says that on his recent trip to Iraq, he found conditions had improved more than he expected. The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff says he's not ready to say that the improvement is irreversible, though.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080716/..._st_pe/us_iraq
-----------------------------------------



Iraq eyes full security control by year-end


By Dean Yates 13 minutes ago BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq hopes to have security control of all its provinces by the year-end, the national security adviser said on Wednesday, underscoring the government's growing confidence in its own forces.

National security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie was speaking at a ceremony where U.S.-led troops handed security responsibility for southern Shi'ite Qadisiya province to Iraqi forces. The handover puts Baghdad in control of security in 10 of the country's 18 provinces, all mainly Shi'ite or Kurdish areas.

"We aspire to reach to the 18th province before the end of this year. God willing, all provinces will be under the control of the Iraqi security authorities before the end of this year," Rubaie said in a speech broadcast on state-controlled Iraqiya television from the Qadisiya capital of Diwaniya.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080716/ts_nm/iraq_dc
-----------------------------------------------------



Mission Accomplished. free iraqis!

__________________
.




"When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission!" -Capt. Zapp Branigan
The United Church of the Latter Day Tangential Tarts