Last week’s confirmation hearing for soon-to-be Secretary of Defense Bob Gates was as much political theater as a serious inquiry. Predictably, many of the questions that came Gates’ way involved the war in Iraq. Democrats and Republicans alike expect that he will bring a fresh outlook to the nation’s problems there. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) cut to the root of the issue by asking Gates if he “was going to be an independent” voice of counsel to the President — an obvious reference to the close relationship between President Bush and former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld. Without hesitation Gates responded that […]
Under Gates, DOD Likely to Soften Policy Toward China
