No, he doesn’t. He has plainly stated that he wants to rebalance the Marines to make them more “marine,” not overly land-based.
Gates agreed to stay on for the first year of Obama’s term. I can’t imagine the angst and aggravation that has been, but I’m grateful to him for doing his best under EXTREMELY hostile conditions.
Now Gates is getting ready to leave. He is making cuts and hard decisions NOW, because
1) cuts are inevitable, spending must come down across the board if we are to avoid economic catastrophe, and
2) he knows full well that he can’t leave the decision about what and where to cut to whichever nincompoop Obama picks as his replacement.
It’s a pre-emptive strike. Gates is the best we’ve got in Washington right now. Aim your arrows elsewhere.
Gates is not the best. He’s a systemite politician bureaucrat. Everyone’s known that from the beginning.
These ideas will gut the military.
There’s no problem with the Marines having a land mission.
Concur..well siad. Gates deserves kudos...remember he had to take over from a SecDef who had become a political lightning rod...regardless if you thought Rummy was brilliant, or a total idiot..his “high visibility:” had made it near impossible for him to function effectively, especially in dealing with Dem controlled Congress..I suspect that Gates wanted to leave after the election, bu he truly loves, and cares for, the troops, and feared who Obama might appoint if he didn’t stay on...