Secretary Of Defense U S

Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said Monday that deeper cuts in U.S. and Russian nuclear arms would save scarce defense funds in both countries, but he refused to say whether the Pentagon had pressed Congress to make unilateral cuts. He was asked at a news conference about a New York Times article saying the Pentagon had quietly recommended in a report in April that Congress consider unilateral cuts because of weakening security threats coupled with budget concerns.

These have not been easy times for President Clinton's three-member foreign affairs brain trust. The "ABC" team--Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, National Security Advisor Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger and Defense Secretary William S. Cohen--took a broadside of verbal hits first at a public meeting in Ohio as they steered the United States toward armed conflict with Iraq, then from congressional Republicans when they accepted an ambiguous, eleventh-hour agreement brokered by U.N.

William S. Cohen was unanimously confirmed as secretary of Defense on Thursday after unequivocally promising his former Senate colleagues that U.S. forces would be out of Bosnia in 18 months. Describing his words as a "very strong signal for our European friends," the former Republican senator declared at his confirmation hearing: "We are not going to be there. This is going to end at that point."

Former Republican Sen. William S. Cohen took office as secretary of Defense on Friday, promising a bipartisan spirit in President Clinton's Cabinet. He quickly warned that U.S. military forces must not "engage too much in humanitarian operations."

President Clinton, laying the foundation for his second-term Cabinet, nominated U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright on Thursday to be the nation's first female secretary of State and chose retiring Republican Sen. William S. Cohen of Maine to be secretary of Defense. Ending a tortuous search for a national security team, Clinton also named National Security Advisor Anthony Lake to run the troubled Central Intelligence Agency and filled Lake's current post with his deputy, Samuel R.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Monday made his first official visit to Southern California since taking the post, kicking off his second year in office by presenting awards to 17 sailors, including several Navy SEALs, who recently returned from Iraq. Gates spent 141 days on the road last year, mostly on high-profile overseas trips to regional hot spots and world capitals.

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."

With two wars raging and an election approaching, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has sent senior civilians at the Pentagon a clear message: Be ready to stick around into a new administration to ensure a smooth hand-over in a time of war. But increasingly, the campaigns of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain have considered sending a similar message to Gates.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has agreed to serve in President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet, advisors said Tuesday, setting up the unusual situation in which a wartime Pentagon chief remains to work under a president who has condemned the previous administration's policies. An official close to the Obama transition team said it was likely that Gates would be named Defense secretary when the president-elect begins to unveil his national security team in announcements expected next week.