Robert M Gates

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates says he is working to prepare the Pentagon for the first wartime presidential transition since Vietnam and has asked civilian officials to be prepared to stay on at the request of the next president. Gates, who has served in seven presidential administrations, said transitions had become slower over 25 years, with more and more senior civilian positions remaining vacant for long periods.

In a message clearly aimed at China, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today that fast-growing Asian powers "risk blundering" into confrontation and sparking a new arms race unless they follow widely accepted international rules. Gates said the U.S. supported the rapid economic growth of emerging Asian nations.

Civilian and military leaders here assured U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Thursday that Turkey's incursion into northern Iraq would be limited to redoubts occupied by Kurdish separatists but offered no guarantees on how soon their troops would withdraw. In meetings with the Turkish officials, Gates pushed, he said, for the operation to be wrapped up as quickly as possible and for the Turks to more clearly explain to the Iraqi government the size and scope of the offensive.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates wrapped up a six-day visit to three regional democracies Wednesday, working to strengthen ties and upgrade the militaries of all three, which have increasingly complex relationships with a burgeoning China. In two days of talks with Indian leaders, Gates spent more time discussing New Delhi's security challenges with Beijing than with its traditional regional rival Pakistan, according to a senior Defense Department official who attended the meetings.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that the U.S. was still willing to sell Indonesia new weaponry, particularly for its navy and air force. But he cautioned that democracies must have firm civilian control of their militaries, which must be disciplined for human rights abuses. Gates praised Jakarta for moving to professionalize its military, which for decades under former President Suharto ruled the archipelago with an iron fist until the dictator was deposed a decade ago.

In an intensifying dispute over weapons priorities, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Thursday privately rebuked a four-star general for suggesting the Air Force intended to buy twice as many sophisticated F-22 Raptor aircraft as the Bush administration had approved, according to Air Force officials. One senior defense official called the remarks by Gen.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates denied Wednesday that the Bush administration was seeking a treaty with Iraq that would require long-term security commitments forcing future U.S. presidents to continue sending troops. Instead, Gates told lawmakers, a new agreement with Baghdad would give the U.S. military continuing legal authority to operate in Iraq, much like current United Nations resolutions, which expire at the end of the year.

If Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates had his way, the protracted presidential nomination battles underway in the Republican and Democratic parties would end sooner rather than later. "Once somebody contemplates the prospect that they may be president of the United States, they're going to begin thinking about what they're going to inherit," Gates said in an interview. "And I think it will be, regardless of party, a sobering realization."

The Dutch Defense Ministry on Wednesday summoned the U.S. ambassador as other American allies denounced criticism of NATO forces in Afghanistan by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. The U.S. ambassador, Roland Arnall, met with ministry officials to offer a "clarification of the comments" by Gates, said chief State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

In an unusual public criticism, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he believes NATO forces currently deployed in southern Afghanistan do not know how to combat a guerrilla insurgency, a deficiency that could be contributing to the rising violence in the fight against the Taliban. "I'm worried we're deploying [military advisors] that are not properly trained and I'm worried we have some military forces that don't know how to do counterinsurgency operations," Gates said in an interview.