Gatesway to Truth
If President Obama was hoping to regain his political footing in 2014, a new "tell-all" book just made that job a lot tougher. The 594-page PR nightmare is set to hit shelves next Tuesday, but the excerpts are already sending shockwaves through D.C. The book, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, is a lengthy look back at Defense Secretary Robert Gates's career, which (with the exception of Bill Clinton) spanned every President since Richard Nixon. For all of the book's revelations, the stories about Gates's most recent boss, President Barack Obama, are the most explosive. Although he does manage to sprinkle in a few kind words, Gates paints the picture of a reluctant commander-in-chief who was not prepared to lead the country, let alone a war.
Perhaps his toughest obstacle as Secretary, Gates wrote, was the "suspicion and distrust of senior military officers by senior White House officials -- including the President and Vice President." After eight years under President Bush, Gates was shocked to watch the relationship between Obama and the Pentagon sour. "...[It] became a big problem for me as I tried to manage the relationship between the commander-in-chief and his military leaders." By most accounts, Gates's observations about President Obama's handling of the troops did more to confirm suspicions than arouse new ones. In many ways, the book's account underscores what we've said all along -- that this administration sees the military as a force for political correctness.
In one of the biggest bombshells of Duty, Gates finally pulls back the curtain on the President's shocking handling of the military's policy on open homosexuality. From the Washington Post's account: "'For me,' Gates writes, '2010 was a year of continued conflict and a couple of important White House breaches of faith.' The first, he says, was Obama's decision to seek the repeal of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy toward gays serving in the military. Though Gates says he supported the decision, there had been months and months of debate, with details still to work out. On one day's notice, Obama informed Gates and Mullen that he would announce his request for a repeal of the law. Obama had 'blindsided Admiral Mullen and me,'" Gates says.
In other words, the very leaders forced to carry out this radical agenda were neither prepared for nor consulted about the change. "I felt that agreements with the Obama White House were good for only as long as they were politically convenient." Unfortunately for our men and women in uniform, that's been the case since the President took office and started using them to advance his extreme social agenda. A strong and successful military cannot be run on the whims of a politically-motivated commander.
Of course, conservatives are not overly sympathetic to Gates either. He was in a position of leadership and should have stood up to the President on matters of principle. More than anyone Secretary Gates should have understood the implications for the two million-plus active duty and reserve personnel. Whether the issue is as broad as religious freedom or as basic as bunks and bathrooms, his refusal to push back on this dangerous policy change has had major consequences for our brave servicemen and women.
Interestingly enough, Robert Gates also didn't pull any punches when it came to the political motivations of one Hillary Clinton. Presumed to be one of the leading presidential candidates in 2016, Gates's depictions of the former First Lady didn't do her campaign many favors. In a meeting with the President, the Secretary of State admitted that her career ambitions were what shaped her policy views. "All too early in the [Obama] administration," Gates wrote, "Hillary told the President that her opposition to the [surge] in Iraq had been political because she was facing him in the Iowa primary." If nothing else, this administration's message is consistent: pandering to President Obama's political base is more important than protecting America.
Seriously. Does this surprise anyone who has ears and eyes? Why would any one who has been watching the Obama scandals unfold be taken aback by Gates' revelations?
It is interesting that Gates' career goes all the way back to Nixon days, and he was privy to presidential insights. I'm not sure I'll read the book, though. The problem is that everyone knows the problem, and it cannot be fixed until Obama is out of office. No one has the gumption (or moral fiber) it seems to truly get to the bottom of all these scandals and make the man pay for his extremely poor decisions as well as bad judgement.
Mark my words. If our weak congress doesn't do something about these scandals and bad decisions, we'll be learning Chinese by 2023.
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