Robert Gates' Portrayal Of Obama Has Democrats Feeling Relieved

WASHINGTON -- Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates' much discussed -- but not yet released -- memoir has caused a stir over the broadsides he levels at the Obama administration.

While the harshest lines are saved for Vice President Joe Biden, Gates also has less-than-glowing passages about President Barack Obama. According to reviews of the book, Gates views the president as having a deep reservoir of respect for the troops but little for the military brass; a thoroughness when it comes to reaching foreign policy decisions but a wavering commitment to seeing those decisions through.

On the Afghanistan troop surge, for example, Gates writes, “As I sat there, I thought: The president doesn’t trust his commander, can’t stand (Afghan President Hamid) Karzai, doesn’t believe in his own strategy and doesn’t consider the war to be his. For him, it’s all about getting out.”

All told, the picture of Obama painted by Gates isn’t the kindest one -- unless, apparently, the picture is being viewed by House Democrats.

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Full article with quotes here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/11/bob-gates-obama_n_4578166.html?1389450897