Robert Gates offers no comment about staying as Defense secretary under Obama
The secretary of Defense, asked in Estonia if he had talked to the president-elect's transition team, says 'I have nothing new to say on that subject.'
Reporting from Tallinn, Estonia — In his first public comments since the election of Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today declined to say whether he had been in touch with the president-elect's transition team about staying on as Pentagon chief in an Obama administration.
Speaking at a news conference here with Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip ahead of a NATO defense ministers' meeting on Thursday, Gates sidestepped a question about his future, saying only that he had nothing to add to previous statements in which he called the prospect of remaining in the job highly unlikely.
"I have nothing new to say on that subject," Gates said with a wry grin.
During the presidential election, Pentagon officials and advisors to Obama floated the idea that Gates could be asked to stay. Richard Danzig, a top advisor to Obama who is now considered a leading competitor for the top job, praised Gates in an interview with The Times.
"My personal position is Gates is a very good secretary of Defense and would be an even better one in an Obama administration," Danzig said last June.
Since the election, however, people briefed on the Obama team's deliberations said that while Gates had been on the top of their list, his prospects have been gradually waning as practical matters -- such as how to retain Gates while replacing his entire staff -- have proved more onerous.
In addition, Gates has backed commanders who have pushed for higher troop levels in Iraq, insisting that conditions on the ground do not allow for a faster exit. Obama advisors said it may be difficult to square the military's support for a conditions-based drawdown with Obama's support for a troop drawdown based on a firm timeline.
Some Obama advisors said the president-elect's strong stance on Iraq would make it all the more important to have a Defense secretary whose personal views are in sync with the new administration. Some of these advisors view Gates with distrust.
"He's not your guy," said one advisor.
Another person briefed on the deliberations over a new Defense chief, which will be overseen by former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga), said Danzig is now seen as the most likely candidate, with Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), a member of the Armed Services Committee and an Army veteran, and Nunn himself under consideration.
Spiegel is a Times staff writer. Julian E. Barnes, a Times staff writer in Washington, contributed to this report.
peter.spiegel@latimes.com
