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The classic World War II-era poster reminded talkative dock workers that "loose lips sink ships." Well, loose nukes present an even more imposing problem, one with continent-cracking possibilities. Last week, when Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested and received the resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, Gates' office cited as a reason a Pentagon investigation of lax standards in Air Force oversight of nuclear weapons. One incident involved a USAF bomber with cruise missiles over-flying a wide swath of the United States -- and the crew didn't know the weapons...

BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 12, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and fellow NATO defense ministers will discuss alliance operations in Afghanistan, the alliance missile defense program, and transition plans for Kosovo during a two-day ministerial beginning here today. The ministers will focus on how NATO nations are moving toward implementing decisions the member nations’ heads of state reached at the alliance’s April summit in Bucharest, Romania, a senior defense official speaking on background told reporters traveling with Gates. Afghanistan will dominate much of the conference, the official said. Gates will participate in meetings centered on NATO’s Regional Command South...

Behind Gates' Decision to Fire Up the Air Force by Austin Bay The classic World War II-era poster reminded talkative dock workers that "loose lips sink ships." Well, loose nukes present an even more imposing problem, one with continent-cracking possibilities. Last week, when Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested and received the resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, Gates' office cited as a reason a Pentagon investigation of lax standards in Air Force oversight of nuclear weapons. One incident involved a USAF bomber with cruise missiles over-flying a wide swath...

Air Force's Cultural Shake-Up by Robert Maginnis Last week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made history when he simultaneously fired the Air Force’s top military and civilian leaders. Most press accounts attribute the head chopping to a series of institutional failures but the truth is that Gates’ real objective is to radically change the service’s culture. Gates forced Air Force secretary Michael Wynne and the service’s chief of staff, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, to resign following the release of a nuclear investigation which reported a “…pattern of poor performance.” That report proved a tipping point for Gates, whose grievances with...

Nuclear arms mistakes were reason for dismissals, but deeper divide over service's mission was at play, officers and analysts say. By Bob DeansWASHINGTON BUREAU Saturday, June 07, 2008 WASHINGTON — In April, Defense Secretary Robert Gates traveled to Maxwell Air Force Base near Montgomery, Ala., to address an elite group of majors and colonels attending the Air War College in preparation for promotions to command positions. For months, Gates had been at odds with Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, over how to increase the use of unmanned aerial...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – America needs dedicated public servants now more than ever, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told graduates at the Virginia Military Institute, in Lexington, Va., today. Gates congratulated the 246 graduates of the state military college on their accomplishments and said the institute has taught them lessons on the importance of public service and duty to their fellow citizens. “For generations, VMI has graduated young people ready to raise their right hands and defend their homeland,” the secretary said. “This is something to be grateful for in any time period, but never more so than in...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – The Defense Department needs to worry more about what warfighters need right now than what they may need down the road, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said last night. In a speech to the Business Executives for National Security group, Gates said he will work for the remainder of his time in office to ensure the department fulfills its “sacred obligation” to support U.S. servicemembers now fighting on the front lines. This means doing all that is needed to “see that they are successful on the battlefield and properly cared for at home,” Gates...

Rumor is Admiral William Fallon will retire suddenly No link yet

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2008 – Vice President Richard B. Cheney thanked recruits and sailors at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., today for choosing to serve a cause greater than themselves in the struggle against terrorism. Cheney talked with about 4,000 recruits and sailors at the center outside Chicago, where his own father trained for his Navy service during World War II. The vice president compared today’s military members who, like their World War II predecessors, put their own interests aside to serve “when the country needed you most.” “Your presence at Great Lakes proves that you understand the core Navy...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2008 – U.S. troops in Iraq will go down in military history as purveyors of democracy in the region, Vice President Richard B. Cheney told a cheering crowd today at Fort Hood, Texas. “Because of you, the people of Iraq can see a better day ahead,” he said. Before addressing 1st Cavalry Division soldiers and their families, Cheney helped uncase the colors of the Army’s 3rd Corps, which recently turned over control of Multinational Corps Iraq to 18th Airborne Corps. “On the ground in Iraq in all of 2007, you amassed a superb record,” Cheney told...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the United States is prepared to share with China some of the information it has about this week's U.S. satellite shootdown. His comments came after Beijing complained the missile strike could cause harm to outer space security and some countries. Gates told reporters during a visit to Hawaii that the United States is prepared to share whatever it can "appropriately" share with China. The Pentagon said earlier that debris from the obliterated satellite is being tracked over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans but appears to be too small to cause damage on...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2008 – The anticipated landing tomorrow of the space shuttle Atlantis will open the window of opportunity for the U.S. military to shoot down a dying intelligence satellite headed toward Earth, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today. President Bush has authorized Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to give the shoot-down order, and the secretary received a briefing on the plan today, Morrell said. The secretary is prepared to make that call from the road, if necessary, during his nine-day, around-the-world trip that begins tomorrow, he said. Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint...

Bob Gates has fallen and he broke his arm

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq, Feb. 11, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today he’ll probably recommend a pause for evaluation and assessment in Iraq before further troop reductions when the last surge brigade leaves in July. Gates spoke following a two-hour meeting with Multinational Force Iraq commander Army Gen. David H. Petraeus. “I think the notion of a brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense,” Gates told reporters traveling with him. The secretary did not speculate on how long the pause would be. Last month, Petraeus recommended a pause in redeployment from Iraq after...

MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 10, 2008 – The war on terror in Afghanistan is Europe’s war, too, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. During a speech at the 44th Munich Conference on Security Policy, Gates spoke directly to Europeans about the dangers al Qaeda and other jihadist groups pose to them. “The threat posed by violent Islamic extremism is real, and it is not going away,” Gates said. Gates said that while European government leaders understand the threats, public support in Europe for the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan is weak because many people on the continent don’t connect the...

BAGHDAD, Feb. 10, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived here today and immediately went into meetings with senior Iraqi officials. The secretary arrived after a four-hour flight from Munich. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, met Gates and escorted the secretary to a working dinner with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talibani and other senior officials. While en route to Baghdad, Gates told reporters traveling with him that he planned to congratulate the Iraqi leaders on their recent governmental progress. Gates said Iraqi lawmakers have been “energized” lately, passing a justice law...

VILNIUS, Lithuania, Feb. 7, 2008 – Pakistan only recently has realized that terrorists on its border with Afghanistan pose a significant threat, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said during a news conference here today. Gates is participating in informal NATO defense ministerial meetings. While the ministers did not specifically discuss the situation in Pakistan, Afghanistan is a major item on the agenda, and reporters asked the secretary about the unrest in Pakistan. “It’s only been in the last few months, in my opinion, that Pakistan has come to realize that the situation along the border with Afghanistan … potentially represents...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2008 – Though many of its nations have been fighting hard in Afghanistan, action is needed to prevent NATO from becoming a two-tiered alliance in which some countries contribute military forces and some do not, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today at a congressional hearing. Many European nations do not understand the importance of the fight in Afghanistan to their own security, or that NATO’s response to the situation says a lot about the future of the alliance itself, Gates said at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee. Gates and other leaders have expressed...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will discuss the need for more NATO forces in Afghanistan when he attends a defense ministers meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, later this week, a senior Defense Department official said here today. The 26 NATO-affiliated defense ministers are expected to discuss the alliance’s mission in Kosovo, European missile defense, relations with Russia and the war in Afghanistan during informal meetings held Feb. 7-8, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters at a news conference. In Vilnius, Gates “will take the opportunity to personally explain to his NATO colleagues why he is...

I admire Donald Rumsfeld. The former two-time Secretary of Defense, White House Chief of Staff and Congressman is also a former naval aviator and a very successful private sector executive. Rumsfeld's life has been defined by public service of the highest sort. His leadership in the war, from the moment he went towards the crash site on 9/11, was defined by a relentless focus on the enemy, a focus so extraordinary that it made him a political liability and a target for every grouser inside the Pentagon and every critic of the war--for whatever reason-- outside of the building. His...