The Secret World of Robert Gates (Robert Parry)

[laststeamtrain]

The Secret World of Robert Gates
By Robert Parry
Consortium News

Thursday 09 November 2006

Robert Gates, George W. Bush's choice to replace Donald Rumsfeld as Defense Secretary, is a trusted figure within the Bush Family's inner circle, but there are lingering questions about whether Gates is a trustworthy public official.

The 63-year-old Gates has long faced accusations of collaborating with Islamic extremists in Iran, arming Saddam Hussein's dictatorship in Iraq, and politicizing U.S. intelligence to conform with the desires of policymakers - three key areas that relate to his future job.

Gates skated past some of these controversies during his 1991 confirmation hearings to be CIA director - and the current Bush administration is seeking to slip Gates through the congressional approval process again, this time by pressing for a quick confirmation by the end of the year, before the new Democratic-controlled Senate is seated.

If Bush's timetable is met, there will be no time for a serious investigation into Gates's past.

Fifteen years ago, Gates got a similar pass when leading Democrats agreed to put "bipartisanship" ahead of careful oversight when Gates was nominated for the CIA job by President George H.W. Bush.

In 1991, despite doubts about Gates's honesty over Iran-Contra and other scandals, the career intelligence officer brushed aside accusations that he played secret roles in arming both sides of the Iran-Iraq War. Since then, however, documents have surfaced that raise new questions about Gates's sweeping denials.

<more>
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110906A.shtml

[BushOut06]

1. Sounds like a perfect Rummy replacement!

Make people think you're making a change, then give them more of the same.

Bush's cabinet is nothing more than a figurehead, an extension of Bush himself. He's not going to appoint anyone who disagrees with him.

[GeorgeGist]

2. Surprise, surprise: Dubya has implemented plan B.

If at first he can't succeed, Daddy Bush comes to the rescue.