Obama lost faith in Afghan war strategy, claims Robert Gates
Former US defence secretary uses new memoirs to criticise president's handling of the Afghan war
BARACK OBAMA lost faith in the United States' strategy in Afghanistan, the former US defence secretary Robert Gates has claimed.
In a new book called Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, Gates claims the president was "sceptical if not outright convinced" that the military strategy would fail.
According to Gates, who was also Pentagon chief under George Bush, Obama remains uncomfortable with the inherited wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He describes Obama as "a man of personal integrity" but says he was distrustful of the military that was providing him options.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Obama's White House was "was by far the most centralised and controlling in national security of any I had seen since Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger ruled the roost", he says. Gates even ordered his aides to limit how much information was given to Obama's advisors because "they don't understand it" – an illustration of how strained relations were between the White House and the Pentagon.
In the Washington Post, Bob Woodward notes that it is rare for a former cabinet member, let alone a defence secretary occupying a central position in the chain of command, to publish such an "antagonistic portrait of a sitting president".
Woodward says the "sometimes bitter tone" in Gates's 594-page memoir contrasts sharply with the "even-tempered" image that he cultivated during his many years of government service. Indeed, Gates describes his outwardly calm demeanour as a facade and reveals that he was frequently "seething" underneath and "running out of patience on multiple fronts".
Nevertheless, the former defence secretary says he "never doubted Obama's support for the troops, only his support for their mission".
A National Security Council spokeswoman yesterday made a statement to say that Obama "deeply appreciates Bob Gates's service as secretary of defence, and his lifetime of service to our country".
She added: "As has always been the case, the president welcomes differences of view among his national security team, which broaden his options and enhance our policies."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The growing US movement to end child marriages
Under the Radar Practice is 'surprisingly widespread' but only 12 states have so far banned it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'New arrivals are more than paying for themselves'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
6 stylish homes in Portland, Oregon
Feature Featuring a wall of windows in Collins View and a historic ballroom in Portland Heights
By The Week US Published
-
A history of Guantánamo Bay
The Explainer War of Terror's 'symbol of torture, rendition and indefinite detention' is subject of new Serial podcast series
By The Week UK Published
-
Is Henry Kissinger right about Ukraine?
Speed Read The US statesman made a controversial speech at a virtual Davos appearance last week
By The Week Staff Published
-
How the Taliban is rolling back the freedoms of the past 20 years
Speed Read Supreme leader has now announced that all women must cover their faces in public
By The Week Staff Published
-
Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused evacuation as Russian hitmen ‘parachuted’ into Kyiv
Speed Read Ukrainian president turned down opportunity to leave capital despite threat to life, adviser claims
By The Week Staff Published
-
Russia can still ‘win’ Ukraine war, Western officials warn
Speed Read Vladimir Putin adjusts tactics after ‘humiliation’ for second phase of invasion
By The Week Staff Published
-
Ukraine war: the atrocities unfolding out of sight
Speed Read Vladimir Putin’s strategy of ‘Russification’ is straight from Stalin’s playbook
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Can Vladimir Putin be toppled?
Speed Read Russia has become what political scientists call ‘a personalist dictatorship’
By The Week Staff Published
-
The meaning behind the Z Russian military symbol
Speed Read Taken from the Latin alphabet, it has become a sign of support for Putin’s war
By The Week Staff Published