Robert Gates

Gates: Afghanistan Troop Levels Could Rise Again

AP | LARA JAKES | Posted 08.16.2009 | World


CHICAGO — The Pentagon's chief said Thursday he could send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan this year than he'd initially expected and is conside...

McKiernan 'Embarrassed' By Removal From Top Post In Afghanistan

cnn.com | Posted 08.15.2009 | World


General David McKiernan was "dismayed, disappointed, and more than a little embarrassed" when he was ousted as the commander of NATO forces in Afghani...

Clinton Consulted With Republicans, Neocons On Big Foreign Policy Speech

The Plum Line | Posted 08.14.2009 | Politics


Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has consulted with a surprisingly diverse ideological bunch in the course of creating the major foreign policy spee...

Former Insider Shatters Credibility of Military Commissions

Andy Worthington | Posted 08.11.2009 | Politics


Andy Worthington

Lt. Col. Vandeveld said, "I simply could not in good conscience continue to work for an ad-hoc, hastily created apparatus whose evident resort to expediency and ethical compromise were so contrary to my own."

History Has Not Yet Judged Bush

James Denselow | Posted 08.07.2009 | Politics


James Denselow

Certainly Bush's rewriting of his Iraq legacy will be helped by his decision to reverse his earlier policies, abandoning the idealism of the top-down reinvention of Iraq, for reality-based pragmatism.

But Am I Safer, Mr. Secretary?

Kerry Eleveld | Posted 08.07.2009 | Politics


Kerry Eleveld

With all due respect, Mr. Secretary, the next time you're mulling the ouster of gay service members, skip the paternalism and just tell us whether we're safer.

Defense Department Lawyer: Post-Acquittal Detentions Possible

The Washington Independant | Posted 08.07.2009 | Politics


Defense Department General Counsel Jeh Johnson moved the Obama administration into new territory from a civil liberties perspective. Asked by Sen. Mel...

Jason Linkins

As Debate On DADT Rages, Robert Gates Looks For 'Humane' Stopgap

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 08.01.2009 | Politics


Spencer Ackerman flags a "curious choice of words" from Defense Secretary Bob Gates, apparently bravely stating the case that maybe, someday, someone ...

Gates: Pentagon Considering Easing Don't Ask Don't Tell

AP | ANNE GEARAN | Posted 07.31.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday he wants to make the law prohibiting gays from serving openly in the armed forces "more...

Pentagon, DHS Divided On Military's Role at Border

washingtonpost.com | Spencer S. Hsu | Posted 07.28.2009 | Politics


A proposal to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to counter drug trafficking has triggered a bureaucratic standoff between the Penta...

Will Congress Put Useless Fighter Jets Above America?

Jon Soltz | Posted 07.23.2009 | Politics


Jon Soltz

Congress is about to throw $369 million (on a down-payment of $2 billion) for a dozen F-22 fighter jets that even the Pentagon doesn't want.

Gates: US Putting More Missile Defense Around Hawaii

AP | ANNE GEARAN and PAULINE JELINEK | Posted 07.20.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is tracking a ship from North Korea that may be carrying illicit weapons, the first vessel monitored under toughe...

Kim Jong-Un, 'Brilliant Comrade' Touted In North Korean Media

AP | VIJAY JOSHI | Posted 07.13.2009 | World


SEOUL, South Korea — The youngest son of North Korea's authoritarian leader has been given the title of "Brilliant Comrade," a sign the communis...

National Guard: Gates Weakening Security

The Hill | Posted 07.13.2009 | Politics


National Guard leaders from 48 of the 50 states sent a letter to the House and Senate Armed Services committees on Thursday warning that a budget deci...

Robert Gates To GOP Leaders: You're Putting Our Security At Risk

The Plum Line | Posted 07.12.2009 | Politics


Wow. Robert Gates and Hillary Clinton are now thrusting themselves into the raging fight over the White House's request for Congressional cash for the...

Gates: North Korea Shows No Sign Of Retaliation For Sanctions

AP | Posted 07.12.2009 | World


BRUSSELS, Belgium — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says it does not appear that North Korea has made military preparations to follow throug...

Afghan War: Next 18 Months Is Crucial, Pentagon Says

AP | LARA JAKES | Posted 07.10.2009 | World


WASHINGTON — Steps taken over the next 18 months to defeat the Taliban and other extremists will ultimately decide whether the war in Afghanista...

US Afghanistan Strategy Reviewed For Fifth Time This Year

McClatchy News | Posted 07.10.2009 | World


Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has given the new U.S. commander in Afghanistan 60 days to conduct another review of the American strategy there, t...

Forgotten: The Second Anniversary of a Guantanamo Suicide

Andy Worthington | Posted 06.30.2009 | World


Andy Worthington

Today, unnoticed in the Western media (although I can't vouch for the Arabic world) is the second anniversary of the death at Guantánamo -- apparently by suicide -- of Abdul Rahman al-Amri.

Gates: North Korea "A Harbinger Of A Dark Future"

AP | LARA JAKES and VIJAY JOSHI | Posted 06.30.2009 | World


SINGAPORE — North Korea's progress on nuclear weapons and long-range missiles is "a harbinger of a dark future" and has created an urgent need f...

Gates Warns North Korea That US Will Respond Quickly

AP | LARA JAKES | Posted 06.29.2009 | World


SINGAPORE — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned North Korea on Saturday that the United States would respond quickly if moves by the comm...

Robert Gates Unleashed: "What Are They Going To Do, Fire Me?"

TIME | Joe Klein | Posted 06.28.2009 | Politics


A few weeks ago, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates trooped up to Capitol Hill to answer questions about the new Pentagon budget. This is an unseemly s...

U.S. to Respond to North Korea with 'Strongest Possible Adjectives'

Andy Borowitz | Posted 05.26.2009 | Comedy


Andy Borowitz

Standing at the President's side, Vice President Joseph Biden weighed in with some tough adjectives of his own, branding Kim Jong-Il "totally wack and illin'."

Sec. Gates Hails Soldier Photographed In Pink Boxers

Editor and Publisher | Posted 06.22.2009 | Politics


Fun read with photo here in the new NYT "Lens" blog: The story behind the front page photo on May 12 that showed a few U.S. soldiers fighting the Tal...

Gates: Guantanamo "Taint" On U.S. Reputation

AP | Posted 06.22.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Obama administration had no choice but to order the shutdown of the prison at Guantanamo be...