This is a great article about Secretary Gates. You have to wonder how much better off we might be if Bush had made the change a few years earlier and then allowed him to do his job. But kudos to Bush for getting personnel decisions right with Gates and Petreaus. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30757959/ WASHINGTON - On a rainy night in March, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to witness the military's ritual for welcoming home its war dead. In a small building next to the tarmac, an officer briefed the defense secretary on the four deceased troops arriving that evening. They had been driving along a rutted road near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, when their Humvee hit a powerful roadside bomb. Gates flashed with anger, according to people with him that day. He had spent most of his tenure in the Pentagon pushing to replace Humvees in Afghanistan and Iraq with Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, built to withstand such blasts. "Find out why they hadn't gotten their goddamn MRAPs yet," he snapped at his staff. Clad in the black suit he had worn to work that morning in the Pentagon, Gates climbed into the cargo hold of the white 747 bearing the remains. From the ground, troops could see the defense secretary as he knelt, alone, by the flag-draped transfer cases. Five minutes passed.
I was listening to something the other day talking about MRAPS and why they weren't used as much in Afganistan before now, they were no good off-road. Now they have apparently finally made one available that can handle the poor road and hilly Afghan regions. In Iraq they worked better because there is a much better road system. Also saw a thing on Sunday Morning on CBS where Petraeus brought a guy back from near death just by talking to him in the hospital. (tiny bit of hyperbole on my part) [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qch7925maA0&feature=player_embedded"]YouTube - A Remarkable Recovery[/ame]
I agree. It was a shrewd move and am glad he had the foresight to do it. Every once in a while he surprises me and does something that makes sense. Of course, if he didn't retain Gates, he would have nominated a tax cheat (Geithner) or someone hopelessly compromised (Daschle) and it would have been a gigantic trouble spot. But after the surge seemed to work, and Obama opposed that, he needed someone with credibility.
I liked some of his other Cabinet picks, and just the other day he showed excellent judgment in refusing to release the photos from Iraq. That said--there are certain moves he's made where my reaction is "not thrilled, but about as good as you can realistically expect" (if Sotomayor is his SC nominee, it will fall into this category); Gates' retention was just a flat-out excellent decision, especially with many of Obama's backers on the whacko left calling for his head.
you don't fire military guys based on their political beliefs. you fire them for incomeptence. Gates and Patreaus were good moves. swearing in on the Koran was also a good move.
No question about keeping things in place during such a clusterf*ck of an administration before. While off topic a bit from the military, but Neel Kashkari was damn good to hang on to also. http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10280 (It's 54 minutes, but well worth everyone's time).
Sure Gates is a good SecDef (not as great as Don Rumsfeld of course) but the military is by no means in "good hands" due to BHO having the ability to tell Gates what to do... Did you see this? It puts America in danger! Obama budget cuts target military funding The Washington Times David M. Dickson | Friday, May 8, 2009 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/08/obama-budget-cuts-target-military-funding/ President Obama has targeted the Department of Defense to absorb more than 80 percent of the cuts he has proposed in next year's budget for discretionary programs. In its "Terminations, Reductions and Savings" booklet, which the administration released Thursday, the White House highlighted the results of the president's line-by-line scrubbing of the federal budget. The administration identified $11.5 billion in discretionary program terminations and reductions for next year. The Defense Department will take a $9.4 billion hit, constituting 82 percent of the cuts. Defense accounts for 49 percent of spending on discretionary programs, which Congress must fund each year.
Yes, my boss is one of the good ones. We are lucky to have a Commander-In-Chief who decided to keep this patriot as a holdover from the last administration. We are incredibly fortunate to have a Commander-In-Chief who respects Gates' opinion and who truly cares about the military. Michelle Obama's support for our military families is unprecedented. Obama+Gates = the military is in good hands.
Rumsfeld and his cabal - Feith, Cambone, et al., did their level best to destroy our military. Of course Cheney and his ilk enabled this. Gates was brought in because Bush finally realized what was going on - thanks to Bush 41 stepping in and helping to put the right person in the pentagon.
Support of military families is her thing. http://www.usnews.com/articles/news...bama-makes-military-families-her-mission.html
Very cool. Not sure I'd call it unprecedented, but nonetheless this has vastly improved my opinion of her.