I agree. He must have taken this job knowing it would not end well...bascially in a very public stand-off between common sense (his views) and crazy radicalism. Maybe he figured he will be able to see out success for a longer period of time in Iraq/Afghanistan, and try to carry on some level of reality at the Pentagon with the job, rather than turning it over to the nuts now.
If you’re right...he is truly a patriot.
I had stated when the chosen one kept Gates on that I felt, and still do, that the only reason Gates stayed was to put himself as a buffer between the chosen one and the military. He knows that the chosen ones idea that the road to peace can only come after the complete dismanteling of our military.