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Keyword: secdef

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  • AP Exclusive: Gates to stay at Pentagon this year

    01/07/2010 6:18:54 PM PST · by Free ThinkerNY · 10 replies · 338+ views
    Associated Press ^ | Jan. 7, 2010 | ANNE GEARAN
    WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's most prominent holdover from the Bush administration—Defense Secretary Robert Gates—is staying on for at least another year. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told The Associated Press late Thursday that Gates and Obama agreed last month that Gates would stay on as Pentagon chief. The commitment is open-ended, but would be for at least the rest of 2010.
  • McNamara's Wall

    07/07/2009 1:17:55 PM PDT · by Interesting Times · 64 replies · 1,145+ views
    Washington Inquirer ^ | May 8, 1995 | Michael Benge
    Rather than absolving him of his sins, former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara’s pseudo-mea culpa, “In Retrospect: Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam,” is a self-indictment. His lesser crime is self-indulgence. His arrogance and duplicity during the Vietnam conflict is echoed throughout his book as he recounts his mismanagement of the war. If as he admits, ignorance was his guiding light, then, it has grown to be a beacon today, proving that he has learned little about Vietnamese communism in the almost three decades that it took him to write his book. Besides the war, another tragedy is that McNamara seems...
  • Commentary: Galloway on McNamara: Reading an obit with great pleasure

    07/06/2009 4:27:20 PM PDT · by smokingfrog · 26 replies · 1,381+ views
    McClatchy Newspapers ^ | July 6, 2009 | Joseph Galloway
    "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." —Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) Well, the aptly named Robert Strange McNamara has finally shuffled off to join LBJ and Dick Nixon in the 7th level of Hell. McNamara was the original bean-counter — a man who knew the cost of everything but the worth of nothing.
  • Former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara Dies

    07/06/2009 6:21:18 AM PDT · by DFG · 333 replies · 10,536+ views
    foxnews.com ^ | 07/06/09 | Staff
    Former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara has died. McNamara, 93, died at home in his sleep Monday morning, his wife Diana told The Associated Press. She said he had been in failing health for some time. Known as a policymaker with a fixation for statistical analysis, McNamara was president of the Ford Motor Co. when President John F. Kennedy asked him to head the Pentagon in 1961. McNamara worked for seven years as the defense secretary in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, longer than any other person in that post. He headed the war department during the build-up of forces in...
  • Holocaust Museum Shooter: Christian hating Socialist

    06/11/2009 7:59:25 AM PDT · by Stepan12 · 66 replies · 2,247+ views
    FrontPage Magazine ^ | June 11, 2009 | Ben Johnson
    James Von Brunn’s writings don’t sound very “right-wing.” On June 10, the nation tragically witnessed a memorial dedicated to commemorating an atrocity become the site of yet more death. Just before 1 p.m., longtime neo-Nazi James Wenneker Von Brunn entered the Holocaust Museum on the National Mall and opened fire in an attempt to complete the Final Solution his hero had left tentative, an omission Von Brunn dubbed “Hitler’s biggest mistake.” As former Defense Secretary Bill Cohen wandered the museum grounds, Von Brunn killed Stephen T. Johns, a black security officer, then was shot himself. As of this writing, the...
  • Gates Issues Warning to North Korea (WOW Gates, way to get tough! sarc)

    05/30/2009 5:01:27 PM PDT · by tobyhill · 25 replies · 902+ views
    ny times ^ | 5/30/2009 | ELISABETH BUMILLER
    Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned North Korea on Saturday that the United States would not accept it as a nuclear weapons state, as Asian security officials struggled to find a new way to deal with the isolated Communist nation. “We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in Asia — or on us,” Mr. Gates told a major defense conference here that has been dominated by North Korea’s test this week of a nuclear device and the firing of at least six short-range missiles, all in defiance of international...
  • Gates Warns North Korea Not to Provoke U.S. (oooh! Kim so scared!)

    05/29/2009 10:58:23 PM PDT · by prismsinc · 33 replies · 1,283+ views
    FoxNews.com ^ | May 29, 2009 | AP via FoxNews
    SINGAPORE -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned North Korea on Saturday that the United States would respond quickly if moves by the communist government threaten America or its Asian allies. "We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in the region -- or on us," Gates told an annual international meeting of defense and security officials from Asia and the Pacific Rim. Gates called North Korea's nuclear program a "harbinger of a dark future" but said he does not consider it a direct military threat to the United States...
  • Donald Rumsfeld: Threat or Menace?

    05/24/2009 11:25:43 PM PDT · by neverdem · 17 replies · 1,222+ views
    American Thinker ^ | May 25, 2009 | Randall Hoven
    Who is to blame for (1) our difficulties in Iraq, (2) the delayed Katrina response, (3) lousy relations between the US and Russia, and (4) Republicans losing the Senate?  Donald Rumsfeld, of course.  At least if you believe Robert Draper, as he writes in the June 2009 issue of GQ. "Former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld has always answered his detractors by claiming that history will one day judge him kindly. But as he waits for that day, a new group of critics -- his administration peers -- are suddenly speaking out for the first time. What they're saying? It isn't...
  • Defense Secretary Lauds Graduates Of West Point for Joining After 9/11

    05/24/2009 2:24:08 PM PDT · by jdfromny · 8 replies · 492+ views
    Washington Post ^ | 5/24/09 | Michael Hill (AP)
    Cadets graduating from West Point were praised by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Saturday for having the courage and patriotism to join the military in "a dangerous new century." Gates noted that the 970 members of the U.S. Military Academy's class of 2009 were preparing their West Point applications in late 2004, even as American forces were battling fiercely in Fallujah in Iraq. "You made your decision to serve knowing not only that America was at war, as did every man or woman who joined the military after September 11, but that this war would be bloody and...
  • Gates Praises West Point Graduates for Enlisting During 'Dangerous New Century'

    05/23/2009 11:39:51 AM PDT · by SonOfDarkSkies · 5 replies · 376+ views
    FoxNews.com/AP ^ | 5/23/2009
    Cadets graduating from West Point were praised by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Saturday for having the courage and patriotism to join the military in "a dangerous new century." Gates noted that the 970 members of the U.S. Military Academy's class of 2009 were preparing their West Point applications in late 2004, even as American forces were battling fiercely in Fallujah in Iraq. "You made your decision to serve knowing not only that America was at war, as did every man or woman who joined the military after Sept. 11, but that this war would be bloody and difficult,...
  • Gates readies big cuts in weapons

    03/23/2009 4:57:29 PM PDT · by Nachum · 28 replies · 1,303+ views
    Boston.com ^ | 3/23/09 | Bryan Bender
    As the Bush administration was drawing to a close, Robert M. Gates, whose two years as defense secretary had been devoted to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, felt compelled to warn his successor of a crisis closer to home.
  • Families’ Wishes Will Drive New Media Guidelines at Dover, Gates Says

    03/18/2009 4:39:23 PM PDT · by SandRat · 4 replies · 287+ views
    WASHINGTON, March 18, 2009 – The wishes of the families will be the overriding principle guiding any media coverage of fallen warriors’ remains arriving at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. Gates directed a working group to come up with a plan to change a ban on such coverage imposed during the Gulf War in the early 1990s. “The working group I tasked to come up with an implementation plan has reported back, and we will put a number of its recommendations into action starting next month,” Gates said during a Pentagon news conference....
  • Gates: U.S. Won’t Allow Taliban Resurgence in Afghanistan

    03/11/2009 4:19:33 PM PDT · by SandRat · 9 replies · 254+ views
    WASHINGTON, March 11, 2009 – As the United States reviews its strategy in Afghanistan, one thing is certain: The United States won’t let the Taliban threaten the Afghan government and re-establish safe havens there, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said on National Public Radio yesterday. “I would say that at a minimum, the mission is to prevent the Taliban from retaking power against the democratically elected government in Afghanistan and thus turning Afghanistan potentially again into a haven for alQaida and other extremist groups,” Gates said. The secretary conceded that the situation in Afghanistan “began to go downhill again” in...
  • Gates to sit out Obama inauguration (designated successor for disaster)

    01/19/2009 12:09:32 PM PST · by gondramB · 45 replies · 2,440+ views
    Yahoo News ^ | Mon Jan 19, 11:17 am ET
    WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will sit out Barack Obama's inauguration at an undisclosed location as the "designated successor" in the event of a catastrophe, the White House announced Monday. While the eyes of the world are glued Tuesday to Obama's historic swearing-in, attended by outgoing US President George W. Bush and both outgoing and incoming senior aides, Gates will stay away, said spokeswoman Dana Perino. "In order to ensure continuity of government, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been designated by the outgoing administration, with the concurrence of the incoming administration, to serve as the designated successor...
  • 'Endgame' for US mission in Iraq

    12/13/2008 12:18:39 PM PST · by flyfree · 19 replies · 802+ views
    US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has told US troops in Iraq that their mission there is in its "endgame".
  • Military Examines Role In Domestic Defense

    11/26/2008 6:08:12 PM PST · by BGHater · 32 replies · 925+ views
    AP ^ | 25 Nov 2008 | AP
    Citizen Soldiers May Need More Training On Homeland Operations, Defense Secretary Says Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday ordered his top department leaders to conduct a broad review to determine whether the military, National Guard and Reserve can adequately deal with domestic disasters and whether they have the training and equipment to defend the homeland. The 41-page memo signaled an acknowledgment that the military must better recognize the critical role of the National Guard and Reserves in homeland defense, but stopped short of requiring many specific policy changes. His memo comes in the wake of a stinging 400-page independent commission...
  • The DUmmies are extremely upset over the news Robert Gates will remain SOD

    11/25/2008 4:36:12 PM PST · by Chet 99 · 28 replies · 1,427+ views
    DUmmies
    2. change... not so much :( Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top amitta (35 posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Tue Nov-25-08 05:09 PM Response to Original message 3. so Obama thinks Dems are weak on defense disgusting. Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top gcomeau Donating Member (1000+ posts) Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author...
  • DONALD H. RUMSFELD: One Surge Does Not Fit All

    11/23/2008 1:06:35 PM PST · by neverdem · 35 replies · 1,890+ views
    NY Times ^ | November 23, 2008 | DONALD H. RUMSFELD
    THE surge in Iraq has been one of the most impressive military accomplishments in recent years. It has been so successful that the emerging consensus is that what may now be needed in Afghanistan is a similar surge of American forces. President-elect Barack Obama campaigned on his intention to do so, as did his former opponent, John McCain. As one who is occasionally — and incorrectly — portrayed as an opponent of the surge in Iraq, I believe that while the surge has been effective in Iraq, we must also recognize the conditions that made it successful. President Bush’s bold...
  • Gates to Meet With Allies, Discuss Afghanistan Mission

    11/20/2008 3:49:00 PM PST · by SandRat · 1 replies · 183+ views
    CORNWALLIS, Canada, Nov. 20, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived here today to encourage a more regional approach to the mission in Afghanistan’s Regional Command South during a two-day meeting of defense ministers from nations contributing the lion’s share of forces there. The meeting, at Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, will provide an opportunity for the eight ministers to focus on the situation in Regional Command South and their strategy for stabilizing that volatile area, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters yesterday. In addition to the United States and Canada, the participants represent Australia, Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands,...
  • Anti-war camp urges Obama to dump Gates [anti-war group CodePink......]

    11/11/2008 11:11:16 AM PST · by Sub-Driver · 14 replies · 176+ views
    Anti-war camp urges Obama to dump Gates By: Jen DiMascio November 11, 2008 01:57 PM EST Arms control advocates and anti-war activists are ratcheting up pressure on President-elect Barack Obama to dump Defense Secretary Robert Gates and replace him with a more strident anti-war voice. Nominating Gates to stay, “would be a violation of the mandate for change that Obama says he represents,” said Medea Benjamin, cofounder of the anti-war group CodePink. A better bipartisan fit for Obama, they say, is Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), who brings out what they like about Gates – his ability to deal with Russia,...