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NEWS ABOUT: defense secretary

defense secretary stories: 31 news summaries

1 - 20 of 31 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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Military Advice to Obama Should Be Private: Gates

Defense secretary joins criticism of McChrystal

Oct 5, 09 4:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Military commanders should give their advice on Afghanistan to President Obama, not to the public, Robert Gates said today. In an implicit reprimand to Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who has commented openly on his low opinion of the administration’s Afghanistan policy, the defense secretary said such advice should be given... More »

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Afghanistan • Robert Gates • war • defense secretary • Obama administration • military commanders • Stanley McChrystal

(Newser) - The scrapping of the F-22 has sent the US Air Force into an abrupt about-face, Time reports. Newly installed officials are asking for 100 cheap, multirole planes that can attack ground positions and also be used to train other countries' pilots in their use. The aircraft must have a... More »

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Robert Gates • Department of Defense • defense secretary • US Air Force • Iraq war • Afghanistan war • F-22 fighter jet • counterinsurgency • prop plane • Michael Donley

Obama Picks Up Steam in Congress Over F-22 Funds

Lawmakers had opposed Prez's bid to cut money

Jul 21, 09 10:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - In a shift, the White House looks likely to win over Congress in its bid to cut $1.7 billion in funding for the F-22 fighter jet, Politico reports. Congress had looked set to support the measure last week, but the administration is pressing hard with Defense Secretary Robert Gates... More »

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Congress • John McCain • Pentagon • John Kerry • Robert Gates • congressional Democrats • defense secretary • Obama administration • Judd Gregg • President Obama • F-22 fighter jet • Mike Enzi

Gates: Public Won't Stand
for 'Long Slog' in Afghanistan

Turnaround must happen within year

Jul 19, 09 2:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Americans aren’t going to put up with a ‘long slog’ in Afghanistan, says Robert Gates: if the public doesn’t see things getting better within a year, support for the war will likely falter, he tells the Los Angeles Times. “After the Iraq experience, nobody is prepared... More »

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Afghanistan • Congress • Robert Gates • defense secretary • Iraq war • Afghanistan war • F-22 fighter jet • public opinion

(Newser) - The governor of Alaska and the architect of the Vietnam War both make fine examples of how not to quit a government post, David Broder writes in the Washington Post. Robert McNamara waited 28 years to explain that he stepped down as defense secretary because of his grave doubts... More »

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Alaska • Lyndon Johnson • resignation • death • Vietnam War • defense secretary • governor • Sarah Palin • Republican governor • Robert McNamara

Non-Appreciation

 Rot in Hell, Mr. McNamara 


Jul 7, 09 7:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - At long last, Robert Strange McNamara has “shuffled off to join LBJ and Dick Nixon in the 7th level of hell,” writes journalist and author Joseph Galloway, who couldn’t be more pleased. “McNamara was the original bean-counter—a man who knew the cost of everything but... More »

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Vietnam • Lyndon Johnson • John F. Kennedy • defense secretary • appreciation • Robert McNamara

legacy

'Whiz Kid' McNamara Could Not Escape Vietnam


Jul 6, 09 3:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - Robert McNamara led many careers but will be best remembered for his time as secretary of defense during the Vietnam War. Though he privately disagreed with some decisions, he maintained a public optimism about “McNamara’s War” that earned him derision, Reuters reports. Describing the impact of the war... More »

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Pentagon • Vietnam War • defense secretary • legacy • Pentagon Papers • appreciation • Robert McNamara • Evan Thomas • Birch Bayh

OBITUARY

 Vietnam Architect 
 Robert McNamara 
 Dead at 93 

Kennedy appointee held post during Vietnam war

Jul 6, 09 8:44 AM CDT
(AP) - Robert S. McNamara, who presided over the escalation of the Vietnam War as Defense secretary under presidents Kennedy and Johnson, died at his home this morning after a period of failing health, his wife told the AP. He was 93. Known as a policymaker with a fixation for statistical analysis,... More »

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Vietnam • John F. Kennedy • obituary • defense secretary • Robert McNamara

Gates Seeks to Make 'Don't Ask' More Humane

Military may not boot gays outed by jilted lovers, blackmailers

Jul 1, 09 12:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Obama administration is looking for ways to get around the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law that forbids gays from serving openly in the military, CNN reports. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he is investigating ways to make the policy “more humane,” such as not... More »

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gay rights • Robert Gates • Don't Ask, Don't Tell • US military • Adm. Mike Mullen • defense secretary • homosexual rights • homosexual • Obama administration • gay

 Afghan Taliban Have 
 Momentum: Gates 

Defense sec says US has months before support wanes

May 26, 09 8:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Taliban have the momentum in the war in Afghanistan and the US is rapidly losing time to turn it around before public support runs out, Robert Gates tells the Wall Street Journal. The defense secretary said in an interview that American support for the war will recede unless the... More »

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Afghanistan • Taliban • Pentagon • Robert Gates • Department of Defense • defense secretary • Afghanistan war • Obama administration

(Newser) - Bush-holdover Robert Gates is using his position in the Obama administration to try to remake Washington’s biggest bureaucracy, refocusing it on the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Washington Post reports. Gates has pushed the Pentagon to shift from preparing for high-tech conventional wars of the future... More »

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Robert Gates • Department of Defense • defense secretary • Future Combat Systems • Defense Dept • Iraq war • Afghanistan war • Jay-ZTV

(Newser) - Gen. David McKiernan will be replaced as chief of NATO’s Afghan mission by Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, a former special ops officer, ABC News reports. McKiernan has held his post for just 11 months, and it is unclear where he will go. The move, to be announced at a... More »

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NATO • Robert Gates • defense secretary • International Security Assistance Force • Afghanistan war • Obama administration • David McKiernan • Stanley McChrystal

(Newser) - Robert Gates has apologized for the Air Force One photo op debacle over New York last week, the Los Angeles Times reports. “We deeply regret the anxiety and alarm that resulted from this mission,” the defense secretary wrote in a letter posted on the website of John McCain,... More »

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John McCain • New York City • Robert Gates • Department of Defense • defense secretary • Obama administration • Air Force One • President Obama • photo op • flyover

Gates Axes F-22 in Pentagon Budget Overhaul

Defense sec cuts deep, readies dep't for this century's wars

Apr 6, 09 1:54 PM CDT
(AP) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates today recommended halting production of the F-22 fighter jet and scrapping a new helicopter for the president as he outlined deep cuts to many of the military's biggest weapons programs. Gates said his $534 billion budget proposal represents a "fundamental overhaul" in defense acquisition... More »

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Pentagon • Robert Gates • budget • Department of Defense • defense secretary • procurement • Pentagon waste • Obama administration • President Obama

Army Phasing Out Program Holding Soldiers After Service

Gates announces end to forced extensions

Mar 19, 09 2:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Army plans to stop forcing soldiers to serve again after their enlistment contracts are up, reports the Washington Post. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced plans yesterday to phase out the “stop-loss” program—which keeps soldiers in the Army beyond their service obligation—over the next two years. Some... More »

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Robert Gates • US military • tour of duty • US Army • soldier • defense secretary • Stop-Loss

(Newser) - The Pentagon has lifted the media ban at Dover (Del.) Air Force Base and will allow photos of the coffins of US war casualties returning from overseas—provided the service members' families approve. Under the new rules, the families can withhold permission, CNN reports. Some relatives had lobbied against... More »

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Pentagon • Robert Gates • US military • Dover Air Force Base • Department of Defense • defense secretary • Obama administration • President Obama • war dead • media ban

 Pentagon Warned: 
 Prepare to Shut Gitmo 

 Dilemma is what to do with worst inmates

Dec 19, 08 5:03 AM CST
(Newser) - The Pentagon has been ordered by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to draw up plans to be prepared to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center soon after President-elect Obama takes office, reports the Voice of America. The immediate problem is what to do with prisoners who likely can't be convicted in... More »

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Pentagon • Robert Gates • Guantanamo Bay • defense secretary • detainees • President Obama • Geoff Morrell

 Gates: Don't 'Test' Obama 


Dec 13, 08 12:26 PM CST
(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates assured the world today that there would be continuity between the administrations of George Bush and Barack Obama, and that anyone who thought otherwise “would be sorely mistaken,” the BBC reports. Gates, who will be staying on in the Obama Cabinet, told an audience... More »

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Robert Gates • US military • defense secretary • Bahrain • transition • President Obama • continuity

OPINION

 Kissinger High on 
 Obama-Clinton Team 

Obama's sound choices pose cooperative challenges

Dec 5, 08 10:35 AM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama wasn’t afraid to take risks in choosing his national security team, and the outcome has left Henry Kissinger optimistic, he writes in the Washington Post. Each member comes to the “team of heavyweights” with well-established views and an “autonomous constituency.” That could mean... More »

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national security • Hillary Clinton • Robert Gates • secretary of State • James Jones • foreign policy • defense secretary • President Obama • team of rivals

Obama Foreign-Policy Team Signals Shift to Diplomacy

Clinton, Gates, Jones will lead diplomatic reform

Dec 1, 08 7:58 AM CST
(Newser) - The three lead players on the national security team Barack Obama will announce today have each historically been more hawkish than the president-elect—but all have embraced his plan for a sweeping foreign policy shift, the New York Times reports. Hillary Clinton, Gen. James Jones, and Robert Gates will work... More »

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national security • Hillary Clinton • Pentagon • diplomacy • Robert Gates • secretary of State • James Jones • foreign policy • defense secretary • President Obama

1 - 20 of 31 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


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