Robert Gates

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Obama's Gitmo Order Isn't What It Seems
Obama's Gitmo Order Isn't
What It Seems
ANALYSIS
Jan 23, 2009 11:36 AM CST

Obama's Gitmo Order Isn't What It Seems

Experts see potential loopholes, gray areas in revised policies

(Newser) - With a stroke of the pen, President Obama rewrote American detention and interrogation policy yesterday. Or not, writes Josh Gerstein for Politico. He offers reasons not to overstate Obama’s policy changes:
  • "Everyone has to follow the Army Field Manual—for now…": Obama is convening a group to
...

'Designated Successor' Gates Will Skip Inauguration

Pentagon boss would take over in worst case

(Newser) - Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will sit out the inauguration at a secure location and be available to take over the government in case of disaster, CBS reports. The White House designated Gates with the approval of the incoming administration, which he will serve in the same post. The move...

Bush Pentagon Team Asked to Stay On
Bush Pentagon Team Asked
to Stay On
Dec 23, 2008 2:00 AM CST

Bush Pentagon Team Asked to Stay On

Gates keeps appointees on board until they are replaced

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates has taken the unusual step of inviting most of President Bush's political appointees to remain at the Pentagon until they are replaced, the Washington Times reports. An undisclosed number will be dismissed, but Gates, keen to avoid a "leadership vacuum" with two wars on, wants...

Pentagon Warned: Prepare to Shut Gitmo

Dilemma is what to do with worst inmates

(Newser) - The Pentagon has been ordered by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to draw up plans to be prepared to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center soon after President-elect Obama takes office, reports the Voice of America. The immediate problem is what to do with prisoners who likely can't be convicted in...

Bush: 'I Never Sold My Soul'
 Bush: 'I Never Sold My Soul' 
Dec 18, 2008 4:43 AM CST

Bush: 'I Never Sold My Soul'

Says he knows he's unpopular

(Newser) - President Bush knows he doesn't have a lot of fans, but is proud that he didn't "compromise my soul to be a popular guy," he tells Fox News. It's particularly tough to like him given the current economic situation, he concedes. "What do you expect? We've got...

Gates: Don't 'Test' Obama
 Gates: Don't 'Test' Obama 
Dec 13, 2008 12:26 PM CST

Gates: Don't 'Test' Obama

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates assured the world today that there would be continuity between the administrations of George Bush and Barack Obama, and that anyone who thought otherwise “would be sorely mistaken,” the BBC reports. Gates, who will be staying on in the Obama Cabinet, told an audience...

Gates Poised to Cut Pricey Weapons
Gates Poised
to Cut Pricey Weapons
Dec 10, 2008 4:05 AM CST

Gates Poised to Cut Pricey Weapons

He's ready to steer Pentagon to 'Wal-Mart approach'

(Newser) - Armed with Barack Obama's endorsement, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is poised to change the Pentagon's pricey weapons priorities, reports the Los Angeles Times. Gates is expected to carve into expensive pending programs like the Army's $160 billion Future Combat Systems plan and high-tech fighter jets in favor of cheap, low-tech...

Kissinger High on Obama-Clinton Team
 Kissinger High on 
 Obama-Clinton Team 
OPINION
Dec 5, 2008 10:35 AM CST

Kissinger High on Obama-Clinton Team

Obama's sound choices pose cooperative challenges

(Newser) - Barack Obama wasn’t afraid to take risks in choosing his national security team, and the outcome has left Henry Kissinger optimistic, he writes in the Washington Post. Each member comes to the “team of heavyweights” with well-established views and an “autonomous constituency.” That could mean a...

Obama Appointments Leave Little for GOP to Knock

Foreign-policy, economics teams peppered with respected, relatively conservative appointees

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s Cabinet picks leave Republicans with few lines of attack, Politico reports. In contrast to campaign rhetoric that painted Obama as a radical leftist, the retention of Robert Gates and selection of McCain buddy Jim Jones has won praise from GOP stalwarts. Karl Rove himself said Obama’s...

Appointments Signal Shift From Candidate to Prez

National security team shows transition from candidate to leader

(Newser) - Yesterday's unveiling of Barack Obama's national security team did more than just end the rancor between him and Hillary Clinton; it established Obama as leader of a broad coalition that may transform his own views on American power. As Peter Baker writes for the New York Times, Obama's partnership with...

Obama Unveils Security Team Starring Clinton, Gates

Security not a partisan issue, president-elect declares

(Newser) - Barack Obama officially announced his national-security team today, a group including primary rival Hillary Clinton as secretary of state and Bush holdover Robert Gates as defense secretary, the AP reports. “One of the dangers in a White House, is that you get wrapped up in group-think,” Obama said,...

Obama Finds Intelligence Posts Tough to Fill

Intelligence posts next, but harder to fill

(Newser) - No surprises are expected as Barack Obama formally nominates his national security team today, leading with Hillary Clinton, Gen. James Jones, and Robert Gates. But the president-elect is having trouble with intelligence positions, the Wall Street Journal reports, as he looks for experienced hands not tainted by service in the...

Obama Foreign-Policy Team Signals Shift to Diplomacy

Clinton, Gates, Jones will lead diplomatic reform

(Newser) - The three lead players on the national security team Barack Obama will announce today have each historically been more hawkish than the president-elect—but all have embraced his plan for a sweeping foreign policy shift, the New York Times reports. Hillary Clinton, Gen. James Jones, and Robert Gates will work...

Ga.'s Chambliss on Runoff: 'We'll Win Again'
Ga.'s Chambliss on Runoff: 'We'll Win Again'
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Nov 30, 2008 12:48 PM CST

Ga.'s Chambliss on Runoff: 'We'll Win Again'

Fellow GOP senators praise Obama picks, pledge bipartisanship

(Newser) - Despite failing to muster 50% of the vote Nov. 4, Sen. Saxby Chambliss said he would prevail in Tuesday’s runoff against Democrat Jim Martin. “We’ll win again,” the Georgia Republican declared on Fox News Sunday. But Chambliss declined to say he would benefit from the lower...

Gates, Obama: Different Parties, Similar Views
Gates, Obama:
Different Parties, Similar Views
analysis
Nov 27, 2008 11:16 AM CST

Gates, Obama: Different Parties, Similar Views

Defense secretary wants to close Gitmo, focus on Afghanistan

(Newser) - Assuming he keeps his job, Robert Gates will have a transformed set of instructions come Jan. 20: Once charged with winning the war in Iraq, the defense secretary will now have to end it. But Gates and Barack Obama have substantial agreements about the nation's military strategy, the New ...

Obama's Inheriting Troubles Darker Than Economy

Mumbai attacks a horrific reminder of the problems Obama must tackle

(Newser) - The attacks in Mumbai are a stark reminder that some things are worse than a slumping economy, David Hallaway writes in Marketwatch. Barack Obama is also inheriting some huge foreign policy challenges, and the days of the war on terror taking a backseat to the financial crisis look certain to...

Reports: Gates Will Remain at Pentagon

'Done deal' that Bush appointee will stay at least 1 year under Obama

(Newser) - Robert Gates will remain in his post as defense secretary at least through the first year of Barack Obama’s administration, reports ABC News. “It’s a done deal,” an anonymous source told the network today. Obama will reportedly unveil his choice of Gates shortly after Thanksgiving, along...

'Realist' Has Obama's Ear on Foreign Policy
'Realist' Has Obama's Ear on Foreign Policy
ANALYSIS
Nov 24, 2008 9:26 AM CST

'Realist' Has Obama's Ear on Foreign Policy

Scowcroft, adviser to Bush I, will likely see protégés in key posts

(Newser) - Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser to the first President Bush and shunned by the second over Iraq, is likely to exercise serious foreign-policy influence in Barack Obama’s administration, the Wall Street Journal reports. Scowcroft, known for a non-ideological foreign-policy philosophy, counts among his protégés a number of...

Pentagon Plans Afghan Surge of 20,000

Commanders say extra 20,000 troops will quell rising Taliban violence

(Newser) - US commanders are drawing up plans to send an extra 20,000 troops to Afghanistan over the next 12 to 18 months, Reuters reports. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the surge will help reverse the rising violence in the country and safeguard elections planned for next fall. Commanders say the...

Klein: Obama's Team of Rivals 'Strong and Wise'

Obama's rumored picks signal preference for diplomacy over militarism: Klein

(Newser) - If current rumblings are to be believed, Barack Obama’s national security team would be disparate indeed, consisting of Hillary Clinton at State, retired general Jim Jones as National Security Adviser, and Robert Gates sticking around as defense secretary. It’s an “extremely strong and wise,” team, writes...

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