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WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2008 – With their invasion of Georgia, the Russians are sending a message not only to neighbors, but also to the world, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. Georgia, a nation of 5 million in the Caucasus region, has allied itself with the West and is seeking membership in NATO. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are provinces that are seeking to break away from Georgia and ally with Russia. Gates noted that, like clockwork, there have been exchanges of gunfire between Georgian and South Ossetian troops every August. “And this year, it escalated very quickly,” he...

US defence chief Robert Gates has said he sees no prospect of using US military force in Georgia, following its week-long conflict with Russia. But he warned that US-Russia relations could be adversely affected for years as a result of Moscow's actions. (snip) Despite concerns that Moscow may not be keen quickly to leave Georgian territory, Mr Gates said the Russians did seem to be pulling back. "They appear to be withdrawing their forces back towards Abkhazia and to the zone of conflict... towards South Ossetia," he said.

In defiance of traditional party labels, Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, may ask the defence secretary of President George W Bush to stay on if he wins the White House. Obama’s top foreign policy and national security advisers are pressing the case for keeping Robert Gates at the Pentagon after he won widespread praise for his performance. The move would be in keeping with Obama’s desire to appoint a cabinet of all the talents. After appealing for unity with former rival Hillary Clinton and her supporters and big donors last week, Obama, 46, is turning his attention to wooing...

Barack Obama has never been shy about comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln. He did so when he announced his candidacy at the Illinois state capitol, where both he and Lincoln served in the legislature. "The life of a tall, gangly, self-made Springfield lawyer tells us that a different future is possible," Obama said. "He tells us that there is power in words ... He tells us that there is power in hope." That was, well, audacious, to say the least — and the comparisons have continued, on issues large and small. But the most important similarity, in Obama's mind, is...

In the wake of the U.S. Air Force leadership shake up, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is directing the service to field six more Predator combat air patrols (CAPs), as well as more Reapers to support operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The order comes shortly after Gates’ first briefing from the new Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Task Force June 6. He set up the task force in April, explaining during a speech at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., that getting warfighting support from institutional military — namely, the Air Force — was “like pulling teeth.” A lack of support for...

The classic World War II-era poster reminded talkative dock workers that "loose lips sink ships." Well, loose nukes present an even more imposing problem, one with continent-cracking possibilities. Last week, when Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested and received the resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, Gates' office cited as a reason a Pentagon investigation of lax standards in Air Force oversight of nuclear weapons. One incident involved a USAF bomber with cruise missiles over-flying a wide swath of the United States -- and the crew didn't know the weapons...

BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 12, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and fellow NATO defense ministers will discuss alliance operations in Afghanistan, the alliance missile defense program, and transition plans for Kosovo during a two-day ministerial beginning here today. The ministers will focus on how NATO nations are moving toward implementing decisions the member nations’ heads of state reached at the alliance’s April summit in Bucharest, Romania, a senior defense official speaking on background told reporters traveling with Gates. Afghanistan will dominate much of the conference, the official said. Gates will participate in meetings centered on NATO’s Regional Command South...

Behind Gates' Decision to Fire Up the Air Force by Austin Bay The classic World War II-era poster reminded talkative dock workers that "loose lips sink ships." Well, loose nukes present an even more imposing problem, one with continent-cracking possibilities. Last week, when Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested and received the resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, Gates' office cited as a reason a Pentagon investigation of lax standards in Air Force oversight of nuclear weapons. One incident involved a USAF bomber with cruise missiles over-flying a wide swath...

Air Force's Cultural Shake-Up by Robert Maginnis Last week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made history when he simultaneously fired the Air Force’s top military and civilian leaders. Most press accounts attribute the head chopping to a series of institutional failures but the truth is that Gates’ real objective is to radically change the service’s culture. Gates forced Air Force secretary Michael Wynne and the service’s chief of staff, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, to resign following the release of a nuclear investigation which reported a “…pattern of poor performance.” That report proved a tipping point for Gates, whose grievances with...

Nuclear arms mistakes were reason for dismissals, but deeper divide over service's mission was at play, officers and analysts say. By Bob DeansWASHINGTON BUREAU Saturday, June 07, 2008 WASHINGTON — In April, Defense Secretary Robert Gates traveled to Maxwell Air Force Base near Montgomery, Ala., to address an elite group of majors and colonels attending the Air War College in preparation for promotions to command positions. For months, Gates had been at odds with Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, over how to increase the use of unmanned aerial...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – America needs dedicated public servants now more than ever, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told graduates at the Virginia Military Institute, in Lexington, Va., today. Gates congratulated the 246 graduates of the state military college on their accomplishments and said the institute has taught them lessons on the importance of public service and duty to their fellow citizens. “For generations, VMI has graduated young people ready to raise their right hands and defend their homeland,” the secretary said. “This is something to be grateful for in any time period, but never more so than in...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – The Defense Department needs to worry more about what warfighters need right now than what they may need down the road, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said last night. In a speech to the Business Executives for National Security group, Gates said he will work for the remainder of his time in office to ensure the department fulfills its “sacred obligation” to support U.S. servicemembers now fighting on the front lines. This means doing all that is needed to “see that they are successful on the battlefield and properly cared for at home,” Gates...

Rumor is Admiral William Fallon will retire suddenly No link yet

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2008 – Vice President Richard B. Cheney thanked recruits and sailors at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., today for choosing to serve a cause greater than themselves in the struggle against terrorism. Cheney talked with about 4,000 recruits and sailors at the center outside Chicago, where his own father trained for his Navy service during World War II. The vice president compared today’s military members who, like their World War II predecessors, put their own interests aside to serve “when the country needed you most.” “Your presence at Great Lakes proves that you understand the core Navy...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2008 – U.S. troops in Iraq will go down in military history as purveyors of democracy in the region, Vice President Richard B. Cheney told a cheering crowd today at Fort Hood, Texas. “Because of you, the people of Iraq can see a better day ahead,” he said. Before addressing 1st Cavalry Division soldiers and their families, Cheney helped uncase the colors of the Army’s 3rd Corps, which recently turned over control of Multinational Corps Iraq to 18th Airborne Corps. “On the ground in Iraq in all of 2007, you amassed a superb record,” Cheney told...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the United States is prepared to share with China some of the information it has about this week's U.S. satellite shootdown. His comments came after Beijing complained the missile strike could cause harm to outer space security and some countries. Gates told reporters during a visit to Hawaii that the United States is prepared to share whatever it can "appropriately" share with China. The Pentagon said earlier that debris from the obliterated satellite is being tracked over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans but appears to be too small to cause damage on...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2008 – The anticipated landing tomorrow of the space shuttle Atlantis will open the window of opportunity for the U.S. military to shoot down a dying intelligence satellite headed toward Earth, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today. President Bush has authorized Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to give the shoot-down order, and the secretary received a briefing on the plan today, Morrell said. The secretary is prepared to make that call from the road, if necessary, during his nine-day, around-the-world trip that begins tomorrow, he said. Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint...

Bob Gates has fallen and he broke his arm

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq, Feb. 11, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today he’ll probably recommend a pause for evaluation and assessment in Iraq before further troop reductions when the last surge brigade leaves in July. Gates spoke following a two-hour meeting with Multinational Force Iraq commander Army Gen. David H. Petraeus. “I think the notion of a brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense,” Gates told reporters traveling with him. The secretary did not speculate on how long the pause would be. Last month, Petraeus recommended a pause in redeployment from Iraq after...

MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 10, 2008 – The war on terror in Afghanistan is Europe’s war, too, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. During a speech at the 44th Munich Conference on Security Policy, Gates spoke directly to Europeans about the dangers al Qaeda and other jihadist groups pose to them. “The threat posed by violent Islamic extremism is real, and it is not going away,” Gates said. Gates said that while European government leaders understand the threats, public support in Europe for the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan is weak because many people on the continent don’t connect the...