In yesterdays post about Robert Gates the question came up of what I think about Robert Gate's quoted statement from Jan. 11, 2007. RE: "I don’t think anybody has a definite idea about how long the surge would last. I think for most of us, in our minds, we’re thinking of it as a matter of months, not 18 months or two years."
Well...It is obvious that it was a lie. Yet this dude has more credentials than you can shake a stick at.
Dr. Robert M. Gates was sworn in on December 18, 2006, as the 22nd Secretary of Defense. Before entering his present post, Secretary Gates was the President of Texas A&M University, the nation’s seventh largest university. Prior to assuming the presidency of Texas A&M on August 1, 2002, he served as Interim Dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M from 1999 to 2001
Secretary Gates has been awarded the National Security Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, has twice received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, and has three times received CIA’s highest award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal.
He is the author of the memoir, From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insiders Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War, published in 1996.
Until becoming Secretary of Defense, Dr. Gates served as Chairman of the Independent Trustees of The Fidelity Funds, the nation's largest mutual fund company, and on the board of directors of NACCO Industries, Inc., Brinker International, Inc. and Parker Drilling Company, Inc.
Dr. Gates has also served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Council on Education, the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, and the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America. He has also been President of the National Eagle Scout Association.
All this, yet he made that ridiculous statement, because the truth doesn't go along with political policy. But he now makes this statement.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Iraqi officials Friday the U.S. commitment to Baghdad is long-term but said U.S. troops would not stay indefinitely.
"The United States sees Iraq as an important regional ally and a vital partner in the global war on terrorism,"
This is more Neoconservative doublespeak. I thought Rumsfeld was bad! Hell...he was just doing his job, which is mainly deception.
Gates: U.S. commitment to Iraq 'long-term'
Published: April 20, 2007 at 4:41 PM
American Forces Press Service.
BAGHDAD April 20 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Iraqi officials Friday the U.S. commitment to Baghdad is long-term but said U.S. troops would not stay indefinitely.
"The United States sees Iraq as an important regional ally and a vital partner in the global war on terrorism," Gates said on the second day of his visit to Iraq. He was joined U.S. Marines Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and senior U.S. military and Iraqi government officials at the news conference inside Baghdad's heavily fortified "green zone."
His predecessor Donald Rumsfeld (Rummy), was replaced because he lied. He lied about weapons of mass destruction along with all of the other Neocons. Here's a video of Rummy lieing to ex CIA George McGovern.
This from the CRSThe Congressional Research Service is the public policy research arm of the United States Congress. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS works exclusively and directly for Members of Congress, their Committees and staff on a confidential, nonpartisan basis.
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS WebOrder Code RS21048
Updated April 17, 2006
U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF):Background and Issues for CongressAndrew Feickert Specialist in National DefenseForeign Affairs, Defense, and Trade DivisionSummarySpecial Operations Forces (SOF) playasignificant rolein U.S. militaryoperationsand the Administration has given U.S. SOF forces greater responsibility for planningand conductingworldwide counterterrorism operations. The 2006 Quadrennial DefenseReview (QDR) has called for a 15% increase in special operations forces beginning inFY2007. Proposals to elevate the command of the Joint Special Operations Command(JSOC) and the realignment of civil affairs, psychological operations (psyops) andcombat search and rescue (CSAR) functions out from under the control of the U.S.Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), has raised concerns that SOF is perhapsbecoming too focused on immediate versus long-term results. This report will beupdated as events warrant
Issues for CongressIs QDR-Mandated SOF Growth Achieveable? Congress may decide toexamine the feasability of the QDR-mandated 15% increase in SOF forces, perhapsfocusing on the proposed growth of Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs, andpsychological warfare and civil affairs personnel. Volunteers for Army Special Forcesand Navy SEALs, in particular, are subjected to rigorous assessment and selectionregimens that traditionally yield only a handful of men selected to serve in these units -around a 20% pass rate in the case of SEAL Basic Underwater Demolition (BUD)Training.16In order to meet a growing requirement, USSOCOM has “overhauled” itsaccession schools, increasing the number of training cadre and number of classes toincrease candidate throughput while allegedly “maintaining the same high standards.”17USSOCOM’s goal for producing 750 enlisted Green Beret graduates per year starting inFY2006 was exceeded a year early as in FY2005, 790 new enlisted Green Beretssuccessfully completed assessment and qualification training. USSOCOM notes that forthe first few years of this initiative, additional SOF soldiers will be used to fill existingvacancies in Army Special Forces units but that USSOCOM is “now postured foradditional future growth.”18While USSOCOM may be graduating additional operators from its qualificationcourses, working against this increase is the continued attrition of SOF personnel due toretirement as well as those who voluntarily separate from the service. While retention isa significant focus for USSOCOM, little is known about how many SOF personnel of allranks are leaving the service and a significant increase in these numbers could precludeany meaningful growth for USSOCOM forces.JSOC’s Increasing Role and Loss of Civil Affairs, Psyops, and CombatSearch and Rescue Capabilities. Congress might act to review the implications ofJSOC’s increasing role in special operations as well as the loss of civil affairs, psyops,and combat search and rescue capabilities. While proponents suggest that these and otherchanges will better enableUSSOCOM to focus on intelligencegatheringand directactionmissions against individual terrorists and terror cells, others are concerned that bymarginalizing the role of civil affairs, psyops, and training foreign militaries, thatUSSOCOM maynot beoptimallysuited for fightingboth the“longwar”on terror aswellas the insurgency in Iraq. Some USSOCOM officials suggest that while direct actionmissions may “show effect immediately” that they can be detrimental in an insurgency,whereas civil affairs, psyops and special forces participating in foreign internal defense,information operations, and civil-militaryoperations historicallytend to bemoreeffectivein long-running counterinsurgency campaigns.
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