PressCoverage

wow... a defense secretary who doesn't lie to himself and the nation...

Gates’s surge skepticism. The LA Times reports:

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates acknowledged Thursday that the Bush administration underestimated the difficulty of getting a political truce in Iraq, where Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s government has been crippled by a walkout by Sunni Arab ministers.

The Pentagon chief’s remarks Thursday were his closest yet to acknowledging that the Bush administration’s top political goals for Iraq may not materialize during the buildup, even if it is extended into next spring, the latest the military could sustain the increase. He also is the top Bush administration official to express such concerns publicly.

Wotan_the_Wanderer

Was this from a relatively new write-up by the LA Times? I ask because Sec. Gates' people have leaked to the press his skepticism toward the surge since week 1 of his appointment as head of defense. He was a member of the Baker-Hamilton Study Group prior to that, which I suspect fueled his skepticism on the so called surge if not an disparate view on an approach to the Middle East and terrorism.

Said this, I'm not so sure I'd go as far as to say he's honest to himself or the nation. His biggest baggage is his reputation for having "manipulated intelligence to drive policy" during his tenure with the Reagan Administration, and specifically, his part in the Iran Contra Affair. He's also known and often criticized for being tediously methodical and careful to the extent that he'll miss out on great opportunities when they present themselves.

PressCoverage

apologies... i forgot the link...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...la-home-center

appreciate your informed input... and welcome to the political forum...

still, i thought Baker-Hamilton was mostly spot on... it's a shame the administration essentially dismissed it...

Wotan_the_Wanderer

Thanks for the welcome and upon browsing through some of the posts in the "Segregation" thread, I actually regret having lurked here.

Also, I agree with the spirit of your comment concerning the Iraq Study Group's report. And in case you missed it, Sec. Gates was on with Russert yesterday and distanced himself from segments of the Group's report. Also, he said the surge was working and noted the great strides our forces have made in Anbar Province. And I think he does have a point here.

At any rate, good luck in keeping things civil in this section for I'm not too into partisan pissing matches.

Real World

Man I wish I wasn't on dial-up.

Howdy all! Oh, and bienvenutti to the forum bud!

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897