{{Officeholder|name=Robert Gates|image=Robert Gates, official DoD photo portrait, 2006.jpg|party=[[Independent]]|spouse=Becky Gates|religion=|offices= {{Officeholder/secretary (cabinet) |of=Defense |state=United States |number=22nd |deputy=n |president=[[George W. Bush]]<br/>[[Barack Hussein Obama]] |terms=December 18, 2006-July 1, 2011 |preceded=[[Donald Rumsfeld]] |former=y |succeeded=[[Leon Panetta]] }}}}'''Robert Michael Gates''' is was the twenty-second [[Secretary of Defense]]. He has served under in the [[Obama Administration]] and previously served in the second [[Bush]] administration since December 18, 2006, taking . He took office after the forced resignation of the previous Secretary, [[Donald Rumsfeld]]. Gates is a registered independent because when working at the [[Central Intelligence Agency]], he believed he should be apolitical; however, he has said "I consider myself a [[Republican]]"<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28022197/</ref>, and gave financial contributions to President George W. Bush's 2004 reelection campaign.<ref>http://www.newsmeat.com/washington_political_donations/Robert_Gates.php</ref> Gates is given credit for the "surge" in Iraq and the success of American policies there.
==Early Life==
Gates was born on September 25, 1943, in Wichita, Kansas. He graduated from received a scholarship to the [[College of William and Mary]] in [[Virginia]]and graduated in 1965 with a B.A. in history. While attending William and Mary, he was very involved in the [[Young Republicans]], and even became the chapter's Presidentpresident. He went on to receive a graduate degree in history from [[Indiana University]] and a Ph.D. in Russian and Soviet history from [[Georgetown University]]. Despite the omnipresence of the [[liberal]] viewpoint at Universities such as those Gates attended, he remained staunchly [[conservative]], not caving in to the pressure from those around him.
==Early Public Service==
Gates served in the [[United States]] [[Air Force]] in [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]] from 1967 to 1969, a time when much of the rest of the nation had abandoned the cause strategy of [[Containment]] abroad. Immediately thereafter, he began working with the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] as an investigator.
==Gates was first nominated for the position of Director in 1987. However, due to negative media spin about the [[Iran-Contra Affair]], in which Gates helped the spread of [[Democracy]], the [[Central Intelligence AgencyUnited States Senate|Senate]]==failed to ratify his appointment.
Gates was first nominated for the position of Director in 1987. However, in 1991, [[George H. W. Bush]] renominated Gates due to negative media spin about the his hard work and staunch [[Iran-Contra AffairAmerican values]]. This time, in which Gates helped the spread of a more responsible [[DemocracyCongress]]approved, and Gates won the appointment he had earned. True to the [[SenateAmerican Dream]] stated that they would not ratify , Gates had worked his appointmentway up from the position of entry-level investigator all the way up to Director and is the only officer in the CIA to have done so.
HoweverIn 1993, in 1991, [[George H. W. Bush]] renominated Robert Gates due to his hard work left the CIA and staunch [[American values]]became a lecturer at a number of prestigious universities. This timeHe continued this until 1999, a more responsible when he was hired as the Dean of the George Bush School at [[CongressTexas A&M]] approved, and Gates won the appointment a position he had earnedheld until 2001. True to In 2002 he took on the [[American Dream]]position of President of Texas A&M, Gates had worked his way up from becoming one of the position university's most popular presidents and greatly expanding the school. In 2004 he hosted a Christian event called "President's Day" for children from Bryan, Texas, who were part of entry-level investigator all the way up to DirectorChildren's Evangelism Fellowship.
==Secretary of Defense==
On November 8, 2006, [[George W. Bush]] followed in his father's sage footsteps by appointing Gates to the position of [[Secretary of Defense]] after [[Donald Rumsfeld|Donald Rumsfeld]]'s]] resignation. He has since used this that position to help win continue to fight the [[War in Iraq|The War in Iraq]] and spread . In 2008, it was announced that Gates would remain Secretary of Defense for at least a year under the administration of incoming President [[DemocracyBarack Obama]] across , so as to ensure a smooth process regarding how the world. He is also helping fight situation in the [[War on TerrorMiddle East]] was handled. This move has been criticised by maintaining people on both ends of the detention camp at [[Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp|Guantanamo Bay]]spectrum, and praised by others. Gates is expected to remain as Defense Secretary through 2010.<ref>http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-gates-defense9-2010jan09,0,3629923.story</ref>
==Other Appointments==Comments on the value of a [[free press]]:*"When it identifies a problem, as at [[Walter Reed]], the response of senior leaders should be to find out if the allegations are true, as they were at Walter Reed, and if so, say so," Mr. Gates said. "And then act to remedy the problem. If untrue, then be able to document that fact. ... The press is not the enemy and to treat it as such is self-defeating."<ref> [http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20070525-041807-9641r.htm Gates addresses Navy class] - May 25, 2007 </ref>
Gates is presently the head of the ==Afghanistan war==see [[National Eagle Scout AssociationAfghanistan War]], a position he uses to spread the word of [[God]] and do good works.
==Other Honors==[[File:Mcchrystal.jpg|thumb|250px|General McChrystal]]In Aug. 2009, General [[Stanley A. McChrystal]], the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, said the Afghan government was riddled with corruption and NATO was being undermined by tactics that alienate civilians. He called the Taliban insurgency "a muscular and sophisticated enemy" that uses modern propaganda and systematically reaches into Afghanistan's prisons to recruit members and even plan operations. McChrystal alerted Washington that he urgently needs more forces within the next year; without them, he warned, the eight-year conflict "will likely result in failure."<ref> Bob Woodward, "McChrystal: More Forces or 'Mission Failure'' [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/20/AR200909200920.html ''Washington Post'' Sept 21, 2009] </ref> American policy was increasing set by Defense Secretary [[Robert Gates]], originally appointed by President Bush in 2006 and reappointed by President Obama in 2009. Gates fired the commander General David McKiernan in May, 2009, replacing him with McChrystal. [[File:Afg-2009.jpg|thumb|350px|Obama plan to add 30,000 troops in early 2010]] Gates insisted on dropping the old strategy of hunting down insurgents and instead adopting a '''counterinsurgency''' strategy that focused on protecting local civilians and training Afghan soldiers and police to take over the job. Gates convinced Obama, who ordered 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan in Dec. 2009, with a deadline of 18 months, at which time a transition to Afghan responsibility would begin. Liberals though Obama and Gates were making a big mistake--heading into another quagmire like Vietnam. However liberal Democrats in Congress will not try to block Obama's proposals. Most conservatives, on the other hand, see victory in Afghanistan as a vital national goal and approve the new strategy, while voicing objections to the 18 month deadline.
[[File:Af-UStroops.jpg|thumb|340px]] ==Other appointments and honors== Gates is presently the head of the [[National Eagle Scout Association]].Gates is an [[Eagle Scout]], and has won the National Security Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal and two occasions, and the CIA's highest honor, the [[Distinguished Intelligence Medal]] on three completely separate occasions. ==Notes== <references/> {{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Robert}}[[Category:United States Appointed Officials]][[Category:Obama Cabinet]][[Category:Reagan Era]][[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom award winners]]