"The Transformer"

Foreign Policy has recently published a revealing interview with Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. Gates is the first Secretary of Defense to retain the position despite the election of a new president with a different party affiliation than the president who appointed the Defense Secretary. Gates is also the only Presidential Cabinet member to be in both Bush’s and Obama’s cabinet. Gates is credited with many accomplishments, including saving $330 billion in cutting 31 defense programs and altering how the U.S. went about envisioning the endgame in Afghanistan. Rather than maintaining the hope of perusing the Herculean task of establishing a stable democracy in Afghanistan with the potential consequence of the U.S. being seen as an “occupier”, Gates’ ambition was to stabilize Afghanistan so that their own security forces were equipped to continue and win the war. Gates, who before being asked by President Obama to remain in his position, made it clear that he would not be remaining in Washington, has proven to be a force of transformation.

To read the full Foreign Policy Article, click here: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/08/16/the_transformer?page=0,0