U.S. defense secretary arrives in Iraq

Dec 20, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq - New Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday, armed with a mandate from
President Bush to help forge a new Iraq war strategy. He made the unannounced trip to the battlefront just two days after taking over at the Pentagon.

Gates went in pursuit of advice from his top military commanders on a new strategy for an increasingly unpopular, costly and chaotic war — one he has conceded the U.S. is not winning. His trip so soon after taking office underscored the Bush administration's effort to be seen as energetically seeking a new path in the conflict.

"The whole purpose is to go out, listen to the commanders, talk to the Iraqis, and see what I can learn," Gates told reporters as he boarded his aircraft in Washington on Tuesday.

Gates and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were scheduled to meet with U.S. and Iraqi military and political leaders.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061220/ap_on_re_mi_ea/gates_iraq

:shrug:

And so, I think, would the troops.

if he does.

I suppose we'll find out has the day progresses what kind of man Gates really is.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/20/world/middleeast/20cnd-gates.html
~snip~
Mr. Gates was scheduled to have several meetings with Gen. John P. Abizaid and Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., and other top American commanders, during his first day in Baghdad. He is expected to see Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki later in his visit.

His trip, like those of all senior American officials since 2003, was not announced beforehand for security reasons.

There are already indications that the replacement of Mr. Rumsfeld is affecting Bush administration policy.

President Bush told the Washington Post in an interview Tuesday that he favors increasing the size of the United States military, a move that Mr. Rumsfeld had long opposed. Mr. Bush said he had told Mr. Gates to develop a plan for boosting troop levels, which follows public complaints by top generals that Iraq and other deployments have stretched American forces too thin.

~snip~