Defense Secretary Robert Gates holds a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. Gates said that U.S. and British citizens were the targets of the violent siege in Mumbai, although most of those killed in the city, the nation's financial capital, were Indians. He also said Tuesday that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, had gone to the region to meet with officials. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)From Yahoo News/AP:
WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Robert Gates signaled a willingness Tuesday to forge ahead with two key priorities for the incoming Obama administration: accelerating the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and shutting down the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
As the only Republican Cabinet member asked to stay on by President-elect Barack Obama, Gates told reporters that military commanders are looking at ways to more quickly pull troops out of Iraq in light of the 16-month timetable that was a centerpiece of the Democrat's campaign.
He also said it will be a high priority to work with the new Congress on legislation that will enable the U.S. to close the detention center at the U.S. naval base in Cuba, where about 250 terrorism suspects are still being held.
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