In an interview published in Foreign Policy magazine, Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he plans to step down early next year. Gates, who was appointed to the job by George W. Bush, says he agreed to stay on when President Obama asked because, "in the middle of two wars, kids out there getting hurt and dying, there was no way that I was going to say, 'No.'" So why is he looking to leave now?
His work is done: "Gates arguably has done more to reshape the modern military than most of his predecessors," says Peter Grier in The Christian Science Monitor. He has killed or downsized 33 weapons systems, including the Air Force's cherished F-22 Raptor and the Army’s ambitious Future Combat System. He has fired top generals and "replaced them with leaders attuned to his desire to build more-flexible forces." In short, his efforts to transform the military are now essentially complete.
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