Gates

As the Obama administration wrestles over its new Afghanistan strategy, the domestic debate is having far-reaching implications for the United States' ties with its allies in the war. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was in Canada on Friday as part of an effort to strengthen the alliance with a partner considered vital to the war effort. But with the U.S. strategy still undecided, Gates was hardly in a position to ask Canada to reconsider or modify its decision to withdraw its 2,800 troops by 2011.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates defended U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, saying Saturday that the weapons transfers are meant to enhance stability in Asia by countering mainland China's military buildup. Gates said in a speech at an annual security conference in Singapore that the arms sales are part of a longstanding U.S. practice. The aid is opposed by Beijing, which this week withheld an invitation sought by Gates for a visit to mainland China while he is traveling in the region.

Reporting from New Delhi and Islamabad Mark Magnier -- Using a mixture of praise and pressure, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates asked Pakistan government officials today to build on their offensives against militants at the same time he tried to reassure a skeptical Pakistani public about American aims in the region. On his first day of a visit to Pakistan, Gates announced the U.S. would provide unmanned aerial drones to the Pakistani military--a longstanding request of Islamabad that America has previously balked at. Defense officials said the U.S. would give Pakistan 12 Shadow UAVs, unarmed surveillance drones that can be used to spy on militants.

A wide-ranging review ordered Thursday by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will strive to answer what he called "troubling questions" raised by the shootings at Ft. Hood, Texas. The Pentagon inquiry will be conducted alongside a government-wide review ordered by President Obama to examine the intelligence failures before the Nov. 5 rampage. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist, stands accused of killing 13 people. Gates expressed horror at the attack, saying there was little the department could do to ease the pain of the family members of those killed.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates voiced support Thursday for a U.S. free trade agreement with Colombia, a treaty considered a critical reward for one of Washington's strongest allies in the region. The proposed agreement, first signed during the George W. Bush administration, has long been supported by U.S. businesses but opposed by labor and human rights groups because of Bogota's history of harsh intolerance of labor activism. Defense Department officials have favored the pact as a way to reward Colombia for its successful effort at beating back drug trafficking and the country's insurgency.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates denied Sunday that President Obama had set an "exit strategy" for Afghanistan, and he forecast that only a "handful" of U.S. troops may leave the country in July 2011, when a withdrawal is due to begin. Gates, appearing on television news programs with other senior U.S. officials, said the Obama administration intended to maintain its commitment to Afghanistan while gradually shifting security responsibilities to the country's central government. "This is a transition," Gates said on ABC's "This Week."

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned Friday that the U.S. should avoid future land wars like those it has fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, but should not forget the difficult lessons it has learned from those conflicts. "In my opinion, any future Defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should 'have his head examined,' as General MacArthur so delicately put it," Gates said in a speech to cadets at West Point.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, after watching a YouTube video showing poor barracks conditions at the Army's Ft. Bragg in North Carolina, said that what he saw was "appalling" and that all commanders must ensure that their troops have decent living quarters. "Soldiers should never have to live in such squalor," Gates said during a speech at Ft. Bliss, Texas. The video, put together by the father of an 82nd Airborne paratrooper, showed mold, peeling paint and broken plumbing fixtures in the Korean War-era barracks.

The loss of Officer Tina Kerbrat was unfortunate and my deepest sympathy goes to her family. However, the recent comments made by Gates have outraged me. He has overstepped his boundaries. I never thought that Gates could surpass his stupid comment of "shooting all casual drug users." I guess I was wrong. It is hard to believe that a man in Gates' position could be so irresponsible to make such comments. I can understand the loss of a police officer is heartbreaking; however, to indict the Salvadoran community for the criminal actions of one individual is unacceptable.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is not opposed to military action to protect rebels in Libya, including a no-fly zone, but he wants to explore the possible consequences of intervening in the crisis, his spokesman said Wednesday. Gates "has not staked out opposition to any particular course of action," Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters traveling with Gates. Morrell was addressing questions about Gates' position on creation of a no-fly zone that have arisen since he warned Congress against "loose talk" of such a move and noted that any effort to patrol Libyan airspace would probably have to be preceded by a bombing campaign to neutralize its air defenses.