Much is already being made about a book that is yet to even be available for purchase. It’s a book written by former defense secretary, Robert Gates, and it’s apparently a book in which he takes more than few shots at Barry, Hitlery and ‘Slow Joe’, two of our current, and one former/future, less than stellar politicians. Gates, who served as Pentagon chief from 2006 to 2011 under both Barry and his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, is rather critical of Barry's ‘leadership’ on several defense-related issues, but especially Afghanistan. According to Gates, Barry lacked belief in his administration's policy toward the war in Afghanistan and was skeptical it would even succeed. But to be honest here, what can you really expect someone who has never really been more than a "community agitator" to understand about something as complex as military strategy?
But anyway, according to various sources supposedly familiar with what has been written, Gates wrote that he concluded by early 2010 that Barry, who had ordered his own troop "surge" in Afghanistan like Bush's in the Iraq war, "doesn't believe in his own strategy, and doesn't consider the war to be his. For him, it's all about getting out." Gates adds that Barry was "skeptical if not outright convinced it (the administration strategy) would fail." After Barry was elected in 2008 to succeed Bush, Gates agreed to the new president's request that he remain on as defense secretary, becoming the first Pentagon chief to have served presidents of different parties. Personally, I don’t see that as something that can be, or should be, seen as being much of an accomplishment, it only proves that, like most career bureaucrats, Gates was only too happy to go with the flow.
I think it fair to say that when it comes to those in public life there are some, who after, I guess, either deciding that it just isn’t any fun anymore, or have for whatever reason become disgruntled employees, run off and write some tell-all book. And then there are those like former Secretary of Defense, Gates whose purpose in writing this book I haven’t quite been able to put my finger on. Here’s a guy that I was never a fan of, I saw him as being nothing more than a career bureaucrat who possessed neither the aptitude nor the skill set required for the job. To my way of thinking, he was no Donald Rumsfeld. And now Mr. Gates has apparently come out with this book, titled "Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary of War," a book which, as I said, is rather unflattering, to say the least, toward both Barry "Almighty" and Hitlery Clinton as well as old ‘Slow Joe’ Biden.
And it’s a book that only serves to confirm that I was correct all along in my feelings toward Mr. Gates, who makes several allegations in this new book, slated for release January 14, that both Barry and Hitlery opposed the surge in Iraq chiefly for "political" reasons. "Hillary told the president that her opposition to the 2007 surge in Iraq had been political because she was facing him in the Iowa primary. The president conceded vaguely that opposition to the Iraq surge had been political," Gates writes, noting he found it "remarkable." He went on to add, "To hear the two of them making these admissions, and in front of me, was as surprising as it was dismaying." As long as this guy has been around Washington, the fact that he could have been surprised by anything that either of these two haters of American could have said or done, proves that he was nothing short of naïve.
Also in his new book, the former defense secretary accuses Vice President ‘Slow Joe’ Biden of "poisoning the well" against the military leadership. "I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades," Gates said of ‘Slow Joe’. Gates also makes the claim that when ‘Slow Joe’ and National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon tried to pass orders to him, he told the two, "The last time I checked, neither of you are in the chain of command." Gates reportedly added that he expects to receive his orders directly from the president of the United States. Anyway, that’s what he’s saying now. And really, whether or not he really made such a statement is immaterial and will simply be seen as being his version of events, his word against theirs, since here’s really nothing to back up his claims.
But I guess the main questions that I would have for Mr. Gates are, "If you felt as strongly about things as you now claim, why did you stick around for as long as you did?" And, "Why didn’t you come out then and take a stand against those things that you, supposedly, so vehemently opposed?" Was it that he saw himself as being able to provide some sort of positive influence? I’d like to hear how it could have been so easy for him to just sit idly by while our commander in chief was busy sending Americans off to fight, and die, as part of a strategy that, according to Gates, Barry had absolutely no confidence in. And frankly, I’m more than a little curious about what it is that Gates is even hoping to accomplish with this book. Because from my point of view, he’s only revealing himself to be a bit of a coward.
And I say coward because here we have a man who didn’t have the guts, at the time, to stand up for those who relied on him to do so. He said nothing as he watched an incompetent boob send troops into combat and who were then forced to operate under some of the most idiotic rules of engagement ever devised. All he would have had to have done, was to open his mouth, to say something, or to do something. But he didn’t, not until now, and in a book that might end making him some money. How many died who might not have if he had just said or done something. But nope, he wanted to save everything for a book, a book that I doubt very many will pay much, if any, attention to. Because at the end of the day what is this book likely to tell us about any of these people, Barry, Hitlery, Biden or even Gates, that we haven’t at least suspected for a very long time?
No comments:
Post a Comment