Free Republic

Robert M. Gates, President Bush's nominee to become the next secretary of defense, said he opposes a swift pullout from Iraq, arguing in written testimony submitted yesterday to Congress that "leaving Iraq in chaos would have dangerous consequences both in the region and globally for many years to come." Gates, whose confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin next week, also staked out positions on Iran and Syria that are consistent with his past views but appear to be at odds with the Bush administration's current policies. He called for diplomatic engagement with both countries, noting that "even in the worst...

Step forward Robert Gates, newly nominated by George W Bush as the US Secretary of State for Defence in place of the unlamented Donald Rumsfeld. Like Rumsfeld, the new man is left over from the days of Bush's father who, prior to becoming vice-president in 1980 under Reagan, was director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Gates was one of his rising stars, and by 1983 was acting director of the agency. In that year, the Democrat-controlled Congress - recognising what a bunch of desperadoes they were backing in the Contras - cut off further funding. The White House's determination to...

Gary G. Sick, a prominent expert on Iran, worked with Robert M. Gates in the White House during the Ford and Carter administration. He says the nomination of Gates to replace Donald M. Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense marks a “moment of real change” for the administration of George W. Bush.

In choosing Robert M. Gates as his next defense secretary, President Bush reached back to an earlier era in Republican foreign policy, one marked more by caution and pragmatism than that of the neoconservatives who have shaped the Bush administration’s war in Iraq and confrontations with Iran and North Korea. Soft-spoken but tough-minded, Mr. Gates, 63, is in many ways the antithesis of Donald H. Rumsfeld, the brash leader he would replace. He has been privately critical of the administration’s failure to execute its military and political plans for Iraq, and he has spent the last six months quietly debating...

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have positioned American troops along Iran’s borders, making the United States and Iran wary competitors and neighbors who nonetheless possess overlapping interests. Meanwhile, questions continue to be raised about Iran’s nuclear program and its involvement with terrorism. Clearly, contending with Iran will constitute one of the most complex and pressing challenges facing future U.S. administrations. This informative report, which sparked sharp debate in Washington and extensive coverage by U.S. and international media, offers a timely new approach. Rejecting the conventional wisdom that Iran is on the verge of another revolution, the report calls for...