The Senate Armed Services Committee asked Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates to offer expertise and advice on defense budgets during an era of Congressional spending austerity — including the recent, across-the-board cuts known as sequestration. Especially since Barack Obama just vetoed the annual defense spending bill, effectively voting to shut down our military.
Do you remember Secretary Gates? After he left office, his memoir had harsh words for President Barack Obama’s leadership style and commitment to the Afghanistan war, accusing the president of losing faith in his strategy.
“For him, it’s all about getting out,” he wrote.
The tone of Gates’ book was considered a break from Washington decorum, in which former Cabinet members rarely level tough judgments against sitting presidents.
On Wednesday, Armed Services Committee members were interested in asking Gates about what to do about Vladimir Putin — one day after a Gates op-ed on the issue in The Washington Post with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Gates says Putin might be ‘doing us a favor,’ urges more defense spending https://t.co/IdaeWMsbTJ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 22, 2015
Gates said Putin remains a powerful geopolitical force, but also suggested the Russian president’s recent military forays might be “doing us a favor.”
Fmr. SECDEF Bob Gates told Congress today that compromise isn’t the same as selling out — “It’s called governing.” https://t.co/BvaHi5S5Iq
— Tony Bertuca (@TonyBertuca) October 21, 2015
Gates said the U.S. should “draw some lines in Syria,” if only to declare a safe haven in an area that doesn’t challenge Assad’s hold on power.
“We should decide what we want to do in Syria and basically … just tell the Russians, ‘This is what we’re going to do. Just stay out of the way.'”
Cold hard truth – Middle Easterners need brutal dictators to keep them in line. They are just wired different from us (most of them). Ask anyone you can find who has had experience with them.
Let’s start giving some of the money we pump into these countries back to the hard-working American taxpayer. Let these countries starve and do without our taxpayer-funded medicine for a while. Sure the Chinese and Russians will move in, but that will only prove over time that the USA is the best option for global leadership.
Check out what he had to say:
Do you trust Gates way of doing things? Does his past relationship with Obama cloud his judgment on this issue? Comment below and share this on your social media timeline.
