Afghan Taliban Have Momentum: 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 defense secretary in decades.” So what can we learn from his tenure?

• Buy time. Defense Department reviews following troop surges in Iraq and Afghanistan gave Presidents Bush and Obama a sense of the military’s trajectory—and they bought time against critics calling for quick drawdowns.

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. “I would try to maximize my combat capability as long as this process goes on—I think that’s a no-brainer,” he said. “I’d opt to keep the shooters and take the support out first.” More»

Officials agree on engagement beyond deadline, says defense secretary

(NEWSER) - Both the US and Afghanistan agree that the US military should maintain its involvement with Afghanistan past 2014 by continuing to train and advise Afghan troops, said Defense Secretary Robert Gates. “Obviously it would be a small fraction of the presence that we have today, but I think we're willing to do that,” Gates told troops in Afghanistan today during a two-day visit. More»

Administration's decided it can't wipe out Taliban

(NEWSER) - President Obama has requested detailed, province-by-province analysis of Afghanistan’s local and tribal leaders, hoping to find more effective partners than the country’s weak and corrupt central government. The administration has concluded that no surge in troops will be able to eradicate the Taliban as a political force, but they believe that some provincial leaders, including Taliban-affiliated ones without ties to al-Qaeda, may be trusted to run their provinces without international help. More»

Defense secretary helps dismantle missile shield program he backed under Bush

(NEWSER) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates has bridged the gap between the Bush and Obama administrations and become a major player in reshaping national security policy in the process, officials tell the New York Times. His pragmatic style—as seen in his decision to ditch the missile defense system he signed off on under President Bush—has helped him become one of President Obama's most trusted advisers, aides say. More»