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Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ self-described “man bites dog” speech this week may be the most important national security legacy speech by any member of the Bush administration. Advocating greater funding and development of U.S. soft power capabilities, Gates was not in fact breaking new ground for a Department of Defense official; but his articulation of the need for such capabilities in a broader, 21st century context gave his remarks a refreshing relevance beyond the political and into the realm of the strategic. Escaping the morass of “long war” rhetoric, Secretary Gates may have written the first chapter in the […]