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I am a liberal democrat.
I am also an Officer in the US Army.
I was not happy when Sec. Gates extended my deployment (my second deployment that is) to Iraq by an additional 90 days making it 15 months total. But the man did what needed to be done.
Gitmo is not his, that one sits with the Whitehouse, not the Pentagon. The fact is is that Sec. Gates has done a great job. He has forced the services to reform in positive ways.
The Army was spending $200 billion on 'Future Combat Systems' an array of futuristic vehicles and weapons that were being developed for a war that would never be fought. Gates forced them to throw away their expensive wish lists and focus on the present conflict.
When the Marines ordered 17,000 MRAPS, enough for every Marine in Iraq, compared to the Army's order of 3,500 Sec. Gates asked the Army why a Marine's life was worth more than a soldier's. Subsequently the Army upped its order to over 12,000.
He made deep and unpopular cuts into the Air Forces bloated budget. When they refused to go along with UAVs he simply (and to their dismay) gave it to the Army (the thought of sending up an aircraft without a pilot is abhorrent to the Air Force).
When it was discovered that injured soldiers were being neglected at Walter Reed the Secretary of the Army and the Army Surgeon General were both sacked.
Additionally, contrary with adiministration is tried to talk down the prospect of a war with Iran. He was in the same page as ADM Fallon, unfortunately ADM Fallon was a little more outspoken than he should have been and it cost him his job.
Simply said Sec. Gates is one of the best SECDEFs in a generation. He has my respect not because I work for him (albeit indirectly) but because he earned it. He needs to remain in his job, and if Obama keeps him on the team, if only for a year or two then the president is all the more wiser.
