Gates' views have differed from Bush

[Kadie]

Gates' views have differed from Bush
By KATHERINE SHRADER and ANN SANNER, Associated Press Writers
1 hour, 6 minutes ago


WASHINGTON - Robert Gates, President Bush's choice to lead the Pentagon, argues that the United States should be talking with Iran instead of shunning it. He says America's spy agencies misled the president on whether Saddam Hussein harbored weapons of mass destruction — but also believes the nation should never launch another pre-emptive military strike without "unambiguous" intelligence.

Gates, a former CIA director, has expressed his beliefs during three decades of experience at the spy agency, the White House and at the helm of Texas A&M University. It's a trail of words that senators will pore over as they weigh his nomination to replace Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

As a participant in 2004 in a task force studying U.S. policy toward Iran, Gates concluded that overthrowing the religious government was unlikely without major military action. And U.S. military commitments as well as the political environment in the region made that a remote possibility, he said.

He argued for an approach that President Bush has resisted: talking to Tehran.

"Engagement could encourage Iran to adopt a more clear, positive attitude toward the new governments in Afghanistan and in Iraq, and it could also create opportunities for greater interaction between Iranians and the rest of the world," said Gates, who diplomatically stated at the outset that he didn't want his words to be viewed as criticism of the administration.

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