Defense Secretary Robert Gates, like his predecessor Donald Rumsfeld, believes the greatest threat to the U.S. military is its own sclerotic bureaucracy
The United States will not likely launch another regime-changing war "anytime soon," but American troops will remain in Iraq and Afghanistan for years, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday that the earliest more forces will become available for deployment to Afghanistan will be spring or summer of 2009.
Up to three more combat brigades could be available to go to Afghanistan beginning next spring, in answer to repeated calls from commanders for more troops
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that if Russia doesn't step back from its "aggressive posture," it will adversely affect U.S.-Russian relations for years.
Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. will submit new offers for a disputed $35 billion Air Force tanker contract, and the Pentagon will pick a winner by the end of the year
The Pentagon will reopen bidding Wednesday for one of the largest contracts in military history, Sen. Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama, said in a statement on his Web site.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, like his predecessor Donald Rumsfeld, believes the greatest threat to the U.S. military is its own sclerotic bureaucracy
The United States will not likely launch another regime-changing war "anytime soon," but American troops will remain in Iraq and Afghanistan for years, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday that the earliest more forces will become available for deployment to Afghanistan will be spring or summer of 2009.
Up to three more combat brigades could be available to go to Afghanistan beginning next spring, in answer to repeated calls from commanders for more troops
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that if Russia doesn't step back from its "aggressive posture," it will adversely affect U.S.-Russian relations for years.
Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. will submit new offers for a disputed $35 billion Air Force tanker contract, and the Pentagon will pick a winner by the end of the year
The Pentagon will reopen bidding Wednesday for one of the largest contracts in military history, Sen. Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama, said in a statement on his Web site.
An increase in attacks by Taliban fighters operating from Pakistan is a "real concern" in the nearly 7-year-old war in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.
No matter who winds up being the next president, he is likely to "take a sensible approach" to the Iraq war, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told CNN in an exclusive interview Tuesday.
The top military and civilian leaders of the U.S. Air Force were forced out Thursday over the handling of nuclear weapons, the Defense Department secretary said.
The demands of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are behind a new push by the Pentagon to increase the ranks of one of its most tireless fighting machines: remote-controlled attack aircraft called Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or UAVs.
Efforts to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are at "a standstill," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a Senate subcommittee Tuesday.
Military cremation procedures have been changed after a soldier complained that his buddy's remains were taken to what appeared to be a "pet crematorium," the Pentagon announced Friday.
Advocates of better mental health care for troops say a new Pentagon policy aimed at reducing the stigma of getting psychiatric counseling could be a small but important step
Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, has been chosen to become chief of U.S. Central Command, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates' voice cracked with emotion Monday night as he wrapped up a lesson to cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
The Defense Secretary accuses the Air Force of excessive focus on the threats of the future, while neglecting the challenges of the present. It's not a new complaint
Defense Secretary Robert Gates appeared Thursday to disagree with President Bush and the top U.S. general in Iraq about when the United States will be able to pull more troops out of Iraq.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has formally ordered the Air Force, Navy and Defense Logistics Agency to conduct an inventory of all U.S. nuclear weapons and nuclear weapon-related materials to make sure all items are accounted for, according to a Pentagon memo released Thursday.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he told Turkish leaders on Thursday that Ankara should end its offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq as soon as possible, but the U.S. made no threats to pull intelligence support for the operation if its NATO ally fails to comply.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates returned to work Wednesday afternoon after breaking his upper right arm in a fall on the ice outside his Washington home, a Pentagon spokesman said.
A pause in the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq after the current reduction is completed in July "makes sense," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Baghdad Monday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has urged European nations to commit more troops to help fight extremism in Afghanistan or risk the survival of the NATO alliance.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband visited Afghanistan on an unannounced trip Thursday to meet with troops, military leaders, and top government officials.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to press European allies to contribute more to the fight in Afghanistan during two days of informal NATO meetings that began Thursday in the Lithuanian capital.
Defense Secretary Gates says his budget asks for a lower percentage of GDP than the military spent during Vietnam. But his calculation rests on a dubious premise
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Thursday that the United States is "ready, able and willing" to send troops to Pakistan if the government of the South Asian nation is interested.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, criticized by some for comments indicating NATO forces in southern Afghanistan are not up to par, praised them Thursday for their "valor and sacrifice," which has caused the Taliban "significant losses."
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday defended his recent comments that some NATO troops in Afghanistan lack the skills to battle insurgents.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates criticized Congress Friday for providing less money than President Bush requested to prosecute the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Defense and foreign ministers from eight NATO countries were gathering Friday in Scotland for a two-day conference to discuss Afghanistan's future, where the U.S. defense secretary plans to press allies to commit more resources to the fight there.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday began two days of talks with allied defense and diplomatic officials on how to re-energize and reinforce NATO efforts in southern Afghanistan
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Afghanistan on Monday for his third visit to the war-torn nation since being confirmed as Pentagon chief.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday the Pentagon would not be able to carry on normal operations by mid-February without additional war funding, creating "real consequences for this department and for our men and women in uniform."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and his Chinese counterpart agreed to work together to steer Iran away from its nuclear ambitions in talks that Chinese President Hu Jintao described Tuesday as "very candid and friendly."
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday hailed deepening dialogue between the United States and China and said Beijing is helping to put pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear program.
Top Bush administration officials are shifting into damage-control mode after a House committee narrowly approved a resolution that labels the killings of Armenians in Turkey during World War I as "genocide."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday he wants closer oversight of Pentagon contractors in Iraq and has dispatched a team there to review military procedures.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is asking for nearly $190 billion from Congress to help fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an increase from the amount requested earlier this year.
Amid a rising number of criminal investigations into alleged fraud and abuse by defense contractors in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, the Defense Department and Army are assembling teams to investigate whether the contracting system should be overhauled, senior Pentagon and military officials said Tuesday.
U.S. forces will probably be in Iraq for a "protracted period" to support the country's year-old government, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday.
Adm. Mike Mullen, President Bush's nominee to become the nation's top military officer, wants to see a U.S. military that can win over "hearts and minds" as well as battlefield confrontations.
Anticipation of a "contentious" confirmation process on Capitol Hill prompted the decision to replace Gen. Peter Pace as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when his term ends in September, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.
Tours of duty for members of the U.S. Army will be extended from 12 months to 15 months effective immediately, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Wednesday.
Serial numbers and markings on explosives used in Iraq provide "pretty good" evidence that Iran is providing either weapons or technology for militants there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates asserted Friday.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday that the United States could start withdrawing troops from Iraq later this year -- "if circumstances on the ground permit."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates testified on Friday that the first phase of President Bush's new Iraq war plan will begin around the first week in February.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates met with top commanders in Iraq on Wednesday as debate swirled in Baghdad and Washington about whether a "surge" of thousands of additional American troops would help the situation in Iraq.
The Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously approved President Bush's nomination of Robert Gates to be defense secretary Tuesday and sent it to the full Senate for approval, the committee's outgoing chairman said.
The outgoing Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee warned President Bush and Defense Secretary nominee Robert Gates on Tuesday to consult with Democrats before changing Iraq policy.
After President Bush announced Wednesday that Robert Gates will replace Donald Rumsfeld as secretary of defense, we asked CNN.com readers what advice they would give to Gates. Here is a selection of your responses, some of which have been edited:
President Bush's choice to take over the Defense Department is already involved in planning for the future of the war in Iraq as a member of a high-level commission reviewing U.S. strategy.
President Bush introduced Robert Gates on Wednesday afternoon as his nominee to replace Donald Rumsfeld as secretary of defense, saying the country needs a "fresh perspective" on Iraq.
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