Posted on 12/05/2006 2:26:08 PM PST by TexKat
As noted below, a lot of the reporting on Robert Gates's confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee will be misleading or trivial. But if you read the answers Gates supplied in advance to the Committee's questions, there is some interesting information. For example, Gates gives the President's enemies no comfort on the decision to go to war in Iraq (p. 13):more...
I heard that question put to Maj. Gen. William Caldwell about an hour ago. I will post the transcript of his response when it comes up on the web.
Bush nominates realist to Defense
Robert Gates, President Bushs nominee for secretary of defense, is in the realist camp that advised against war in Iraq.
Gates served as CIA director under Bushs father and was close then to the elder Bushs secretary of state, James Baker, and national security adviser, Brent Scowcroft.
Both men are known for their opposition to the broad Bush administration goals of democratizing Iraq and the region.
Jewish insiders close to the Bush administration said that Gates was chosen because of his contrast with Donald Rumsfeld, the neoconservative whose six years as defense secretary are coming to an end in the wake of the repudiation of Bushs Iraq policy in the midterm congressional election.
Bush emphasized Gates moderation in announcing the nomination on Wednesday, a day after the election.
Gates knows that the challenge of protecting our country is larger than any political party, and he has a record of working with leaders of both sides of the aisle to strengthen our national security, he said.
http://jta.org/page_view_breaking_story.asp?intid=5496
As the debate over Iraq intensifies, leading Democrat Silvestre Reyes is calling for the deployment of more U.S. troops.more...
See my #33.
I sure hope you are right. An all-out offensive is badly needed before Iran takes over Iraq, as it is doing in Lebanon. I hope this guy has the balls to do it.
So, I guess by that thinking we are in TIE or something?? If you ain't winning the damned war, you are losing it. THERE ARE NO TIES!
There are stalemates.
The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. (Proverbs 21:1 KJV)
There you have it then... Gates is a ringer..
National Security is a joke..
You can't tell me squat about "troops" lady. I've been there, done that. In war and in peace. Try to convince someone else, you are failing in that attempt with me.
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