OSHKOSH QUESTIONS - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates speaks with the press following a tour of the mine-resistant, ambush-protected-all terrain vehicle production facility and test site, Oshkosh, Wis., Nov. 12, 2009. The design of the vehicle, known as an M-ATV, combines the protection of an MRAP with the extreme mobility and durability needed to negotiate mountainous off-road terrain. DoD photo by Cherie CullenHow His Ideological Journey Will Shape The War -- The New Republic
One afternoon in October, a blue and white jumbo jet flew high above the Pacific Ocean, approaching the international dateline. On board was the secretary of defense, Robert Gates, who was on an around-the-world trip that would end with a summit of NATO defense ministers, where the topic of the day would be Afghanistan. Gates was flying on what is often called “the Doomsday Plane,” a specially outfitted 747 that looks like a bulkier Air Force One and was built to wage retaliatory nuclear war from the skies. Its hull contains metal wiring to shield its avionics from the electromagnetic pulse emitted by nuclear explosions, and a super-reflective coat of paint renders it what the military calls “thermal radiation protected.”
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My Comment: After last year's election of President Obama, I remembered reading a story on how Sec. of Defense Gates was preparing to move out of the Pentagon and into civilian life. He was reflecting on his career, as well as expressing his misgivings on leaving a job in which he felt more work was necessary .... but he was also relieved that he was getting out of political life and the rough and tumble of Washington politics. To prove his point, he had a timer that was counting down his last days in office.
Some were speculating at the time that he would still remain in his office .... to act as a caretaker before President Obama finds someone more suitable to occupy the office. At the time I believed it would have been a mistake to replace him .... he is the right man at the right time in the right job.
A year later .... he is now irreplaceable. I know that his consul and advice will be invaluable, and that many will be listening to him when he speaks on US war policy in Afghanistan and elsewhere .... including President Obama. And while I may disagree with many of his policies and actions .... I will admit that he is still the right man at the right time in the right job.
And as for that timer .... I suspect that it has been put away in some desk drawer.