The way Gates has operated, speeches, declarations, now this Mideast trip

[bigtree]

Who is Gates operating on behalf of as he postures and makes proclamations about the state and future role and mission of our military?

Who was Gates operating on behalf of when he talked to the forces today at Balad Air Base, just north of Baghdad? (http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/13/gates.afghanistan/?iref=mpstoryview)

"Despite what you might hear about an increased focus in Afghanistan, let there be no doubt that your mission and the mission of all American troops in Iraq remains incredibly important during this crucial transition period," Gates told the troops.

What is the 'mission' that Gates has in mind for the troops? Whose mission is he thinking of? His own? Bush's? Obama's? Maliki's?

Who told Gates to rattle his saber at Iran today?

“The president-elect and his team are under no illusions about Iran’s behavior and what Iran has been doing in the region and apparently is doing with weapons programs,” he said.

Who told Gates to beat his chest today, warning 'foreign powers' against 'testing' the new president?

For that matter, who told U.S. Commander, General Odierno that he could define the future mission of troops which remain in Iraq, declaring today that forces would remain in the cities beyond the June deadline for a withdrawal of combat troops called for in the Iraq agreement; suggesting that the exit date could be re-negotiated?

“Three years is a very long time,” he reportedly said.

In the weeks surrounding the announcement of his extended reign at the Pentagon, Gates has gone on a promotion tour, advocating his plan for orienting the entire military forces to his Iraq occupation style of 'irregular warfare'; pushing hard for a 'new generation' of nuclear weapons; and arguing that the U.S. can't be seen as 'losing' in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Who is Gates working for? Has he gone rogue, or did someone actually put him up to all of this posturing? Who is he speaking for?

[ColbertWatcher]

1. Good find and good questions. k+r, n/t

[elleng]

2. He's working for President Obama,

no doubt.

[bigtree]

4. I've never heard the language he uses

. . . coming from Mr. Obama.

[annabanana]

3. I wonder if anyone told Gates that his old boss just arranged to

playing nuclear footsie with Dubai? (you know the island making, port buying big Iran trading partner?)

[glowing]

5. Perhaps he's saber rattling to prevent some people from thinking Obama is soft

and attacking us at a time of economic vulnerability. With the depression at hand, troops stretched thin, what else can Gates do but talk loudly? If we were attacked 9/11 style, would we ever recover? Think about how bad the economy was after 2001 attacks.

[bigtree]

6. I was thinking about trying something different

. . . from the same swaggering nonsense which has created more adversaries than it's actually kept at bay.

I'd like to believe the new president might want to set his own tone. Coming from Gates, it sounds a lot like fearful posturing of the exiting administration.

[madokie]

10. Whos the pResident right now?

anyway

[bigtree]

11. I'm afraid I just don't understand how he can change policies midstream

. . . and I can't determine whether this behavior is in line with the policy of the next administration.

Is there ANY other holdover or appointee who has spent their time in the transition actively promoting the policy of the exiting administration like Gates has?

[madokie]

12. Armchair quarterbacks haven't won a game yet

I say its pretty simple in that we will not ever know just exactly what is going on on any front wether it be the economy or the wars. I don't and won't even try to outguess nor outsmart PE Obama. I voted for Obama/Biden and until they start lying to me I'll trust them to do the work he said they would do of which I approved of when I cast my ballot. I have not seen any thing as to now to make me think it be wise to second guess the man. Apparently you do and thats fine if thats what you want to do but for me this'll be the last I read of any more of it.

Have a great day :hi:

[bigtree]

13. I think that it's ridiculous to accept criticisms of every aspect of the Bush regime

. . . and to just turn around now and accept those very same militaristic constructions without criticism out of some reverence for their supreme judgment.

It sounds like you are ready to accept anything the next administration presents, out of some trust you have for the Executive's ability to manage the Pentagon bureaucracy away from the very public and vocal differences that the Defense chief is busy promoting and implementing.

I think that position is fine for someone satisfied with the direction of the Iraq occupation and other initiatives from the Bush/Gates Pentagon, but it's not the necessarily vigilant stance that we've been taking against these issues of war and military aggression abroad.

If you don't feel you have any role or obligation in evaluating the actions of the Pentagon and the presidency, that's your choice. But, the proper functioning of our democratic form of government depends on our understanding and input on these critical issues of national defense and militarism, otherwise, we might as well just declare the military and the presidency omnipotent and immune to any of our expectations. I'm not prepared to advocate that sort of disconnect from the operations of the government we elect.

[tekisui]

7. Good question.

Who is he representing? I would say he is representing chimpy until Jan. 21st. We'll see what his actions tell us then. Until then, he is at best not to be trusted.

[bigtree]

8. with the chimp in Iraq today

It's pretty clear that he's on a mission to defend the priorities of the Bush administration and to provide continuity for those policies he's eagerly and zealously supported.

[spanone]

9. the criminals are still in charge and gates works for the criminals