Robert Gates Downplays U.S. Troop Cuts In Afghanistan

WASHINGTON -- Outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged on Sunday that the U.S. State Department is in direct talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan, but cautioned that troop drawdowns in the decade-long war will be modest at most in 2011.

Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," Gates said U.S. negotiations with the Taliban are unlikely to yield significant results before December.

"The drawdown must be politically credible here at home," Gates said, and implied that a call from Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) to reduce troop levels by 15,000 by the year's end may not be feasible.

"We can do anything the president tells us to do, the question is whether it is wise," Gates said.

On ABC's "This Week," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), one of the foremost Congressional boosters of the war in Afghanistan, said that he would support a "modest" reduction in troops of 5,000 to 10,000 this year. McCain said that Gates' previous support for a "modest" drawdown informed his position.

On "Fox News Sunday," Gates also warned against making aggressive cuts to defense spending, saying the military is not a source of deficit trouble.

"The base defense budget is not part of the deficit problem," Gates told Chris Wallace. "The base defense budget, not counting the wars, is about 3 percent of GDP [gross domestic product]."

But an examination of the full scope of military spending -- not just the base defense budget -- yields a higher number: In 2010, 20 percent of the U.S. budget was devoted to "defense and security-related" operations, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal-leaning think tank.

This article was updated to include Sen. McCain's comments.

Comments

[Quinxy von Besiex]

09:13 PM on 06/20/2011

Considering what he's had to work with, I think Obama has done a good job. The economy's collapse was arrested, job losses have slowed, fewer people are losing their homes, everyone will now have access to health care, and Osama was eliminated. I might have wished for more, but I'm still far more optimistic about our outcome than I was under Bush.

[Observer111]

04:56 PM on 06/20/2011

It took 58,000 body bags for US to pull out of Vietnam. Let's see what body count is necessary to make misguided potus to reduce troop deployment to zero.

[pistol13]

01:06 PM on 06/20/2011

IT IS TIME TO GET OUT OF AFGHANISTAN! Karzai now refers to our soldiers as occupying forces and has met with Ahmadinajad and discussed the problems arising from "occupying forces" He insults the many young women and men that have died and those several thousand more wounded to keep him in office. Get out and see how he survives. NO MORE AMERICAN BLOOD FOR KARZAI !!!

[jnzcram]

12:25 PM on 06/20/2011

This could be an excellent way of settling these tensions for future generations it can't go on forever.

[Charles Fortner]

09:17 AM on 06/20/2011

Bring the Boys Home-Bring Them Home Alive! NOW.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU0qdbcHmpw

[locnar69]

08:52 AM on 06/20/2011

These people in afganstan have had ten years to stand up for themselves and do what is right by their country,but like so many before them they show no real interest in standing up,we as a nation have given our blood and money for them to have freedom and they cant even after ten years get a security force togther or do away with the tribal mentality that allowed the taliban to take over.So we as a nation should demand they show some real efforts and soon,also as a side note they can only repay our lost lives by standing up and walking into the future as a modern and free society.This they can only do for themselves and we should demand it now not later

[metropixie]

08:38 AM on 06/20/2011

Imagine, talks with the Nazis in WWII... Or the Vietcong... So, the Talibs won...

[Count of Anjou]

08:31 AM on 06/20/2011

"The base defense budget is not part of the deficit problem," Gates told Chris Wallace. "The base defense budget, not counting the wars, is about 3 percent of GDP [gross domestic product]."

The DOD budget in 2010 was $0.69 Trillion. Total Revenue in 2010 was $2.2 Trillion. Thus 31.4% of the US's annual revenue is spent on defense (actually more is spent on defense, this is just the DOD portion, excluding things like unfunded military actions overseas and veterans medical care for life). The GDP is NOT revenue, Robert Gates, so how is that relevant? Defense spending is most certainly a large part of the deficit problem!

[Whinger]

08:14 AM on 06/20/2011

"You haven't an arm, you haven't a leg
The enemy nearly slew you
You'll have to go out on the streets to beg
Oh, poor Johnny, what've they done to you"

[Lohan7]

08:05 AM on 06/20/2011

Talking to the Taliban is a waste of time. They will agree to anything and then do what they want. Rather than wasting time on useless talks with them, let's just get out and let Karzi and the Taliban go back to business as usual without our tax money to fund their power grabbing. This IS NOT rocket science folks. Politicians - act like you really are public servants capable of governing this country, and like you actually understand the futility of trying to 'manage' uneducated tribal peoples that are living in a world decades behind us socially and politically.

[REDSTATEREFUGEE]

07:37 AM on 06/20/2011

According to Gates, the drawdown "must be politically credible here at home." Well, stuff this in your credibility, Mr. Gates: this is still a nominal democracy and 2 : 3 voters want our troops home immediately.

Bring the troops home now. Set a reasonable six month departure date certain and stick by it. Mr. Obama, you were forceful in the elimination of OBL ; now, get us out of the mess. By an impartial assessment, we are still spending on Iraq and AFG $ 117 billions annualized for 2011.

And all of that, which amounts to about $1,500 for a family of four for this year, is dwarfed by losing even one more soldier's or Marine's life for a lost cause. Stop the madness.....

[Jesse Taylor]

04:17 AM on 06/20/2011

Translation: "We're going to do a token draw down right before election season, so that Obama can claim that he has done something about the wars, other than escalating them."

[General Public]

04:13 AM on 06/20/2011

If we can talk to the Taliban, why can't we talk to Hamas, who were democratically elected into power in the Palestinian Territories in 2006, the most recent Palestinian election? I thought the U.S. was in favor of democracy in the Middle East. Then again, judging by our alliance with the totalitarian dictatorship of Saudi Arabia and our failure to condemn Bahrain's monarchy for repressing nonviolent protests by killing its own people, maybe that is all just doublespeak... just like our promise to never negotiate with terrorists has been violated a number of times, yet again with these negotiations with the Taliban. Our government's pronouncements about the Middle East are about as truthful as Muammar Gaddafi's.

[linbon]

09:38 AM on 06/20/2011

You have succinctly articulated my thoughts on this topic. Thank you. F&F.

[tony wise]

03:18 AM on 06/20/2011

wow these guys are really really really slow.

obamas been in talks with the taliban since he took office.

[tony wise]

03:20 AM on 06/20/2011

giving them amnesty for murder,  land, and jobs in the afghansitan government on OUR dime.

[nmaddog7]

03:14 AM on 06/20/2011

"reduce troop levels by 15,000 by the year's end may not be feasible" why, why isn't it feasible? They always have the same nonsense answers...