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{{short description|22nd United States Secretary of Defense (2006–2011)}}
{{Infobox US Cabinet official
{{About|the civil servant}}
|name = Robert Michael Gates
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
|image = Robert Gates, official DoD photo portrait, 2006.jpg
{{Infobox officeholder
| imagesize =250px
|order = 22nd | name = Robert Gates
| image = Robert_Gates, official DoD photo portrait, 2006.jpg
|title = ]
|term_start = December 18, 2006 | caption = Official portrait, 2006
| office = 22nd ]
|predecessor = ]
|president = ]<br>] | president = ]<br />]
|deputy = ] <small>(2006-2009)</small><br>] <small>(since 2009)</small> | deputy = ]<br />]
|order2 = 15th | term_start = December 18, 2006
| term_end = June 30, 2011
|title2 = ]
| predecessor = ]
|term_start2 = November 6, 1991
| successor = ]
|term_end2 = January 20, 1993
|predecessor2 = ] | office1 = 24th ]
|successor2 = ] | president1 = ]<br />]
| term_start1 = February 3, 2012
|president2 = ]
| term_end1 =
|deputy2 = ]<br>]
| predecessor1 = ]
|order3 = 16th ]
| successor1 =
|term_start3 = April 1986
| office2 = 22nd ]
|term_end3 = March 1989
| term_start2 = August 1, 2002
|president3 = ]<br>]
| term_end2 = December 16, 2006
|predecessor3 = ]
|successor3 = ] | predecessor2 = ]
| successor2 = Ed J. Davis {{small|(Interim)}}
|order4 = 16th ]
| office3 = 15th ]
|term_start4 = 1989
| president3 = ]
|term_end4 = 1991
|president4 = ] | deputy3 = ]<br />]
| term_start3 = November 6, 1991
|predecessor4 = ]
| term_end3 = January 20, 1993
|successor4 = ]
| predecessor3 = ]
|birth_date = {{bda|1943|09|25}}
| successor3 = ]
|birth_place = ], ]
| termlabel4 = Acting
|party = ]<ref>Gates is not registered with any political party, but considers himself Republican. {{cite news |title=Gates: Military looks to accelerate Iraq pullout |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28022197/ |work=Associated Press |publisher=Associated Press |date=December 1, 2008 |accessdate=May 5, 2009}}</ref>
|spouse = Becky Gates | president4 = ]
| term_start4 = December 18, 1986
|signature = Robert Gates Signature.svg
| term_end4 = May 26, 1987
|alma_mater = ] <small>(])</small><br>] <small>(])</small><br>] <small>(])</small>
|branch = ] | predecessor4 = ]
| successor4 = ]
|serviceyears = 1967 – 1969
| office5 = 17th ]
|rank = ] ]
|battles = ] | president5 = George H. W. Bush
| term_start5 = March 20, 1989
| term_end5 = November 6, 1991
| predecessor5 = ]
| successor5 = ]
| office6 = 16th ]
| president6 = ]<br />George H. W. Bush
| term_start6 = April 18, 1986
| term_end6 = March 20, 1989
| predecessor6 = ]
| successor6 = ]
| office7 = 36th ] of the ]
| term_start7 = 2014
| term_end7 = 2016
| predecessor7 = ]
| successor7 = ]
| birth_name = Robert Michael Gates
| birth_date = {{nowrap|{{birth date and age|1943|9|25}}}}
| birth_place = ], U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = ]<ref>{{cite news |title=Gates: Military looks to accelerate Iraq pullout |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna28022197 |publisher=NBC News |agency=Associated Press |date=December 1, 2008 |access-date=May 5, 2009 |quote=Gates also cleared up confusion about his political affiliation. During his tenure at the CIA, he said, he thought he should be apolitical so he did not register with a political party. But, he added, "I consider myself a Republican." |archive-date=December 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216115037/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/28022197/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
| spouse = {{marriage|Becky Wilkie|1967}}
| children = 2
| education = ] (])<br />] (])<br />] (])
| signature = Robert Gates Signature 2.svg
| allegiance = ]
| branch = ]
| serviceyears = 1967–1969
| rank = ]
| module = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Announces Senior Personnel Turnover in the Wake of ADM Fallon's Resignation as CENTCOM Commander.ogg|title=Robert Gates's voice|type=speech|description=Robert Gates announces personnel changes amid Admiral ]'s resignation as commander of ]<br/>Recorded April 23, 2008}}
}} }}
'''Robert Michael Gates''' (born September 25, 1943) is currently serving as the 22nd ]. He took office on December 18, 2006.<ref name="sworn in">{{cite news
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6190279.stm
|title=New US defence secretary sworn in
|author=
|work=BBC News
|date=December 18, 2006|accessdate=2006-12-18}}</ref> Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the ] and the ], and under ] ] as ]. Before he joined the CIA, he was an officer in the ].<ref></ref> After leaving the CIA, Gates became president of ] and was a member of several ] ]. Gates also served as a member of the ], the bipartisan commission co-chaired by ] and ], that has studied the ]. He was also the first pick to serve as ] of the ] when it was created following the ], but he declined the appointment in order to remain President of ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6460623
|title=Gates' Government Intelligence Experience Runs Deep
|publisher=National Public Radio
|date=November 9, 2006
|accessdate=2006-11-09}}</ref>


'''Robert Michael Gates''' (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd ] from 2006 to 2011. He was appointed by President ] and was retained by President ]. Gates began his career serving as an officer in the ] but was quickly recruited by the ] (CIA).<ref>{{cite book| first= Robert| last= Gates| title= From The Shadows| url= https://archive.org/details/fromshadows00robe_0| url-access= registration| year= 1996 |pages= | publisher= Simon & Schuster| edition= 2006 Paperback}}</ref> Gates served for twenty-six years in the CIA and at the ], and was ] under President ] from 1991 to 1993. After leaving the CIA, Gates became president of ] and was a member of several corporate boards. Gates served as a member of the ], the bipartisan commission co-chaired by ] and ] that studied the lessons of the ].
Gates accepted the nomination as ] position on November 8, 2006, replacing ]. He was confirmed with ] support.<ref name="Time"/> In a 2007 profile written by former ] ], '']'' named Gates one of the ].<ref name="Time">. '']''. Accessed May 31, 2008.</ref> In 2008, Gates was named one of America's Best Leaders by '']''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/best-leaders/2008/11/19/americas-best-leaders-robert-gates-us-secretary-of-defense.html|title=America's Best Leaders: Robert Gates, U.S. Secretary of Defense|accessdate=2008-11-25}}</ref> He currently continues to serve as Secretary of Defense in President ] cabinet.<ref name="change.gov 1Dec08-1">{{cite web |author= |title=Key members of Obama-Biden national security team announced |work=Newsroom |publisher=] |date=1 December 2008 |url=http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/key_members_of_obama_biden_national_security_team_announced/ |format=Press release |accessdate=December 1, 2008}}</ref>

Gates was nominated by Republican president ] as secretary of defense in 2006, replacing ].<ref name="Historical Office">{{cite web |url=http://history.defense.gov/Multimedia/Biographies/Article-View/Article/571279/robert-m-gates/ |title=Robert M. Gates – George W. Bush / Barack Obama Administration |work=Office of the Secretary of Defense – Historical Office |access-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207114027/http://history.defense.gov/Multimedia/Biographies/Article-View/Article/571279/robert-m-gates/ |url-status=live}}</ref> He was confirmed with bipartisan support.<ref name="Time"/> In 2007, '']'' named Gates one of the ].<ref name="Time">{{cite news| url= http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733757_1735600,00.html | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080505054017/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733757_1735600,00.html | url-status= dead | archive-date= May 5, 2008 |title= Robert Gates |first= Zbigniew | last= Brzezinski| magazine= ]|year= 2007}}</ref> In 2008, Gates was named one of America's Best Leaders by '']''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/articles/news/best-leaders/2008/11/19/americas-best-leaders-robert-gates-us-secretary-of-defense.html|title=America's Best Leaders: Robert Gates, U.S. Secretary of Defense|access-date=November 25, 2008|archive-date=December 20, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220141606/http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/best-leaders/2008/11/19/americas-best-leaders-robert-gates-us-secretary-of-defense.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He continued to serve as secretary of defense in President ]'s administration<ref name= "change.gov 1Dec08-1">{{cite press release |title=Key members of Obama-Biden national security team announced |work= ] |date= December 1, 2008 |url= http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/key_members_of_obama_biden_national_security_team_announced/ |access-date= December 1, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081201182614/http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/key_members_of_obama_biden_national_security_team_announced/ |archive-date=December 1, 2008}}</ref> and retired in 2011. "He'll be remembered for making us aware of the danger of over-reliance on military intervention as an instrument of American foreign policy," said former senator ].<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/us/politics/19gates.html?_r=1&hpw=&pagewanted=all| title= Looking Back, Gates Says He's Grown Wary of 'Wars of Choice'| work= The New York Times| date= June 18, 2011| access-date= February 18, 2017| archive-date= February 2, 2017| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170202012329/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/us/politics/19gates.html?_r=1&hpw=&pagewanted=all| url-status= live}}</ref> Gates was presented the ], the nation's highest civilian award, by President Obama during his retirement ceremony.<ref name= "defense.gov">{{cite news|title=Obama Awards Gates Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=64526|work=American Forces Press Service via Defense.gov|access-date=June 30, 2011|date=June 30, 2011|archive-date=December 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111221161827/http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=64526|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since leaving the Obama administration, Gates was elected president of the ], served as ], and served as a member on several corporate boards. In 2012, Gates was elected as a fellow of the ]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Incorporated |first=Prime |title=National Academy of Public Administration |url=https://napawash.org/fellow/15201 |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=National Academy of Public Administration |language=en}}</ref>


==Early life and education== ==Early life and education==
A native of ], Gates attained the rank of ] in the ] (BSA) and received the ] from the BSA as an adult.<ref name="desalista">{{cite web | author = | year = | url = http://members.cox.net/scouting179/Eagle%20Distinguished.htm | title = Distinguished Eagle Scouts | work = | publisher = Troop & Pack 179 | accessdate = 2006-03-02}}</ref><ref name="honor">{{cite book | last = Townley | first = Alvin | authorlink = | coauthors = | origdate= 2006-12-26 |url= http://www.thomasdunnebooks.com/TD_TitleDetail.aspx?ISBN=0312366531| title = Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts | publisher = St. Martin's Press| location = New York | pages =217–218| isbn = 0-312-36653-1 |accessdate= 2006-12-29 | year = 2007}}</ref> He graduated from ] in 1961, reportedly with straight A's.<ref name="Shane061119"> Gates was born in ], Kansas, the son of Isabel V. (née Goss) and Melville A. "Mel" Gates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/celeb/robertgates.htm|title=robert gates|work=ancestry.com|access-date=February 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808124219/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/celeb/robertgates.htm|archive-date=August 8, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Gates attained the rank of ] in the ] (BSA) and received the ] and ]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scoutingmagazine.org/silverbuffalo/|title=Scouting magazine: List of Silver Buffalo recipients|website=ScoutingMagazine.org|date=August 30, 2016 |language=en-US|access-date=May 31, 2019|archive-date=July 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709072231/https://scoutingmagazine.org/silverbuffalo/|url-status=live}}</ref> from the BSA as an adult.<ref name="desalista">{{cite web |url = http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/02-529.pdf |title = Distinguished Eagle Scouts |publisher = Scouting.org |access-date = November 4, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130808174903/http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/02-529.pdf |archive-date = August 8, 2013 |url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="honor">{{cite book | last = Townley | first = Alvin | url = http://www.thomasdunnebooks.com/TD_TitleDetail.aspx?ISBN=0312366531 | title = Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts | publisher = St. Martin's Press | location = New York | pages = 217–218 | isbn = 978-0-312-36653-7 | access-date = December 29, 2006 | year = 2007 | archive-date = December 19, 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061219180428/http://www.thomasdunnebooks.com/TD_TitleDetail.aspx?ISBN=0312366531 | url-status = dead}}</ref> He graduated from ] in 1961.<ref name="Shane061119">{{cite news
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/19/washington/19gates.html
{{cite web
| url = http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/19/washington/19gates.html
| title = Pentagon Pick Returns to City He Gladly Left | title = Pentagon Pick Returns to City He Gladly Left
| date = November 19, 2006 | date = November 19, 2006
| first = Scott|last = Shane | first = Scott
| last = Shane
| work = New York Times | work = The New York Times
| page = front | page = 1
| accessdate = 2006-09-25 | access-date = September 25, 2006
| archive-date = May 15, 2013
}} </ref>
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130515083013/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/19/washington/19gates.html
| url-status = live
}}</ref> Gates is also a ] member within the ], BSA's National Honor Society. He was selected as the 2017 BSA National Alumnus of the Year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2018/02/16/bsa-names-national-alumnus-year-2018/|title=BSA names its National Alumnus of the Year for 2018|last=Wendell|first=Bryan|date=February 16, 2018|website=Bryan on Scouting|language=en-US|access-date=May 31, 2019|archive-date=May 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531144045/https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2018/02/16/bsa-names-national-alumnus-year-2018/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gates then received a scholarship to attend the ], graduating in 1965 with a ] in history. At William & Mary, Gates was an active member and president of the ] (national service fraternity) chapter and the ]; he was also the business manager for the ''William and Mary Review'', a literary and art magazine.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite news|newspaper=W&M News|pages=Front|date=December 8, 2006|url=http://www.wm.edu/news/index.php?id=6992|title=Senate confirms Gates ('65) as U.S. Secretary of Defense|publisher=College of William & Mary Office of University Relations|last=Whitson|first=Brian|access-date=November 9, 2006|no-pp=true|archive-date=November 27, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061127170555/http://www.wm.edu/news/index.php?id=6992|url-status=live}}</ref> At his William & Mary graduation ceremony, Gates received the ] naming him the graduate who "has made the greatest contribution to his fellow man".<ref name=autogenerated1 />


Gates then received a ] in the history of Eastern Europe and the south Slavs from ] in 1966.<ref name=gates00/> He completed his PhD in ] at ] in 1974 under ], who had been heavily influenced by ]'s studies on "Soviet communism and its resemblance to oriental despotism and the Asiatic mode of production, the role of government in controlling all of society."<ref name=gates00/> The title of his Georgetown ] is ''Soviet Sinology: An Untapped Source for Kremlin Views and Disputes Relating to Contemporary Events in China''<ref>{{cite book | url= https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22Soviet%20Sinology%3A%20An%20Untapped%20Source%20for%20Kremlin%20Views%20and%20Disputes%20Relating%20to%20Contemporary%20Events%20in%20China%22&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-ContextMenu&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7GGLL_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=ws | title= Soviet Sinology: An Untapped Source for Kremlin Views and Disputes Relating to Contemporary Events in China | via= Google Scholar | access-date= March 6, 2016 | archive-date= January 8, 2016 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160108075910/http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22Soviet%20Sinology%3A%20An%20Untapped%20Source%20for%20Kremlin%20Views%20and%20Disputes%20Relating%20to%20Contemporary%20Events%20in%20China%22&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-ContextMenu&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7GGLL_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=ws | url-status= live}} University Microfilms International {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124014157/https://dissexpress.proquest.com/search.html?doc_no=7421652 |date=January 24, 2023}}</ref> and is available from University Microfilms International as document number 7421652.
Gates then received a scholarship to attend the ]. There, he graduated in 1965 with a ] in ]. At William & Mary, Gates was an active member and president of the ] (the national service fraternity) Chapter and the ]; he was also the ] manager for the ''],'' a literary and art magazine.<ref name=autogenerated1>
{{Citation
| newspaper =W&M News
| pages =Front
| year =2006
| date =December 8, 2006
|url =http://www.wm.edu/news/index.php?id=6992
| title= Senate confirms Gates (’65) as U.S. Secretary of Defense
| publisher = College of William & Mary Office of University Relations
| last =Whitson | first =Brian
| accessdate=2006-11-09
| nopp =true }}</ref>
At his William & Mary graduation ceremony, Gates received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award naming him the graduate that "has made the greatest contribution to his fellow man." <ref name=autogenerated1 />


Gates was awarded an ] from ] (1998), the ] (2011),<ref>{{cite news|last=Straszheim|first=Deborah|title=W&m Charter Day To Honor Gilmore|url=https://www.dailypress.com/1998/02/06/wm-charter-day-to-honor-gilmore/|access-date=February 11, 2013|newspaper=Daily Press|date=February 6, 1998|archive-date=May 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514085435/http://articles.dailypress.com/1998-02-06/news/9802060037_1_charter-day-william-and-mary-honorary|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Five Outstanding Individuals to Receive Honorary Degrees at OU Commencement |url=http://www.ou.edu/publicaffairs/archives/HonoraryDegree.html |publisher=Public Affairs, University of Oklahoma |access-date=February 11, 2013 |archive-date=December 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230235346/http://www.ou.edu/publicaffairs/archives/HonoraryDegree.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> ] (2014)<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.georgetown.edu/hoyas2014/speakers.html |title= Georgetown Announces Speakers for 2014 Commencement |date= May 1, 2014 |work= Georgetown University |access-date= May 1, 2014 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140502033259/http://www.georgetown.edu/hoyas2014/speakers.html |archive-date= May 2, 2014 |df= mdy-all}}</ref> and from ] (2012).
Gates then pursued an ] in History from ] in 1966. Finally, he completed his ] in Russian and Soviet History from ] in 1974. The title of his Georgetown doctoral dissertation is "Soviet Sinology: An Untapped Source for Kremlin Views and Disputes Relating to Contemporary Events in China" and is available from University Microfilms International as document number . He received an ] (Doctor of Humane Letters) from William & Mary in 1998.


He married Rebecca "Becky" Gates (née Wilkie) on January 7, 1967, and they have two children.<ref name=GatesSpeech/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bgcc.tamu.edu/becky-gates/|title=Becky Gates|access-date=October 18, 2021|archive-date=October 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018020947/https://bgcc.tamu.edu/becky-gates/|url-status=live}}</ref>
He married on January 7, 1967.<ref name=GatesSpeech/> Becky and Bob Gates had known each other for only three months when he proposed marriage.


==Intelligence career== ==Intelligence career==
===Positions=== ===Junior positions===
While at Indiana University, Gates was recruited by the ] and joined the agency in 1966.<ref name=DefenselinkBio>{{cite web| last =| first =| authorlink =| coauthors =| date = | year = 2007| month = July| url = http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/biographydetail.aspx?biographyid=115| title = DefenseLink Biography: Dr. Robert M. Gates| format =| work =| pages =| publisher = U.S. Dept. of Defense| language =| accessdate = 2008-04-21}}</ref> On 4 January 1967, he was commissioned as a ] in the ].<ref name=GatesSpeech>{{cite news|accessdate=December 23, 2008 While at ], Gates was recruited by the ] and joined in 1966.<ref name=DefenselinkBio>{{cite web|date=July 2007|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/biographydetail.aspx?biographyid=115|title=DefenseLink Biography: Robert M. Gates|publisher=U.S. Dept. of Defense|access-date=April 21, 2008|archive-date=November 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130082128/http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/biographydetail.aspx?biographyid=115|url-status=live}}</ref> On January 4, 1967, he was commissioned as a ] in the ] after attending ] under CIA sponsorship.<ref name=GatesSpeech>{{cite news |access-date= December 23, 2008 |url= http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4214 |title= Secretary Gates Remarks at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Montgomery Alabama |last= Gates |first= Robert |date= April 21, 2008 |work= DefenseLink News |format= transcript |publisher= US Department of Defense |archive-date= December 11, 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081211223917/http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4214 |url-status= live}}</ref><ref name=DefenselinkBio/> From 1967 to 1969, he was assigned to the ] as an ], which included a year at ] in ], where he delivered intelligence briefings to ] crews.<ref name=NYReviewofBooks_Powers_19960620>
{{cite magazine |first=Thomas |last=Powers |url=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/powers.htm |title=Who Won the Cold War? |magazine=New York Review of Books |volume=43 |issue=11 |date=June 20, 1996 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050913060243/http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/powers.htm |archive-date=September 13, 2005}}</ref> After fulfilling his military obligation, he rejoined the CIA as an ].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.allgov.com/Official/Gates__Robert|title= AllGov – Officials|work= allgov.com|access-date= December 29, 2011|archive-date= January 18, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120118224302/http://www.allgov.com/Official/Gates__Robert|url-status= live}}</ref> He wrote his doctoral thesis while serving as a professional intelligence officer.<ref name="gates00">{{cite news |title=Robert M. Gates Oral History |url=https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-oral-histories/robert-m-gates-deputy-director-central |access-date=29 March 2024 |agency=Miller Center |publisher=Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia}}</ref>
|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4214
|title=Secretary Gates Remarks at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Montgomery Alabama
|last=Gates |first=Robert |date=April 21, 2008
|work=DefenseLink News |format=transcript
|publisher=U.S. Department of Defense}}</ref><ref name=DefenselinkBio/> From 1967 to 1969, he was assigned to the ] as an intelligence officer which included a stint at ] in ], where he delivered intelligence briefings to ] crews.<ref name=NYReviewofBooks_Powers_19960620>
{{cite journal|accessdate=
|first=Thomas |last=Powers |url=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/powers.htm
|title=Who Won the Cold War?" |journal=New York Review of Books
|volume=43 |issue=11 |date=June 20, 1996}}</ref> After fulfilling his military obligation, he rejoined the CIA.


Gates left the CIA in 1974 to serve on the staff of the ]. He returned to the CIA in late 1979, serving briefly as the director of the Strategic Evaluation Center, Office of Strategic Research. He was named the Director of the DCI/DDCI Executive Staff in 1981, ] in 1982, and ] from April 18, 1986 to March 20, 1989. Gates left the CIA in 1974 to serve on the staff of the ]. He returned to the CIA in late 1979, serving briefly as the director of the Strategic Evaluation Center, Office of Strategic Research. He was named the director of the DCI/DDCI Executive Staff in 1981, deputy director for intelligence in 1982, and ] from April 18, 1986, to March 20, 1989.


===Deputy National Security Advisor===
=== Director of Central Intelligence ===
]Gates was Deputy ] from March until August 1989, and was Assistant to the President and ] from August 1989 until November 1991. Under ], Gates was Deputy ] from March until August 1989, and was Assistant to the President and ] under ] from August 1989 until November 1991.


Gates was nominated to become the ] (head of the CIA) in early 1987. He withdrew his name after it became clear the Senate would reject the nomination due to controversy about his role in the ].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/03/02/gates-to-withdraw-as-cia-nominee/f84b9c42-4531-4fca-85bc-f6e2b13bb9e3/|title=Gates to Withdraw as CIA Nominee|date=March 2, 1987|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=September 4, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=September 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904225657/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/03/02/gates-to-withdraw-as-cia-nominee/f84b9c42-4531-4fca-85bc-f6e2b13bb9e3/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Gates was nominated (for the second time, see below) for the position of Director of Central Intelligence by President ] on May 14, 1991, confirmed by the Senate on November 5, and sworn in on November 6, becoming the only career officer in the CIA's history (as of 2005) to rise from entry-level employee to Director.


===Director of Central Intelligence===
Deputy Directors during his tenure were ] (from November 6, 1991 until March 2, 1992) and Adm. ] (from April 9, 1992 through the remainder of Dr. Gates' tenure). He served until 1993.
]]]
Gates was nominated, for the second time, for the position of Director of Central Intelligence by Bush on May 14, 1991, confirmed by the Senate on November 5, and sworn in on November 6.<ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.cnn.com/2013/10/17/us/robert-gates-fast-facts/index.html|title= Robert Gates Fast Facts|publisher= CNN|access-date= September 4, 2018|archive-date= September 4, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180904191928/https://www.cnn.com/2013/10/17/us/robert-gates-fast-facts/index.html|url-status= live}}</ref>


During a Senate committee hearing on his nomination, former division chief ] testified that the agency was the most corrupt and slanted during the tenure of ] with Gates serving as deputy. According to Goodman, Gates was part of an agency leadership that proliferated false information and ignored 'reality'. ] chairman Harold P. Ford testified that during his tenure, Gates had transgressed ].<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305080716/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/02/news/02iht-cia_.html |date=March 5, 2016}}, Paul Horvitz. ''The New York Times''. October 2, 1991. Retrieved June 8, 2011</ref>
The final report of the Independent Counsel for ] , issued on August 4, 1993, said that Gates "was close to many figures who played significant roles in the Iran/contra affair and was in a position to have known of their activities. The evidence developed by Independent Counsel did not warrant indictment..."<ref>Lawrence E. Walsh, , August 4, 1993, and in particular Chapter 16, </ref>


Deputy directors during his tenure were ] (from November 6, 1991, until March 2, 1992) and Adm. ] (from April 9, 1992, through the remainder of Gates's tenure). He served until 1993. It is notable that the reluctance of the Bush administration to involve itself in the ] was due in no small part to three advisors who had deep exposure to the region: Scowcroft, ] and himself: "We saw the historical roots of this conflict and the near nonexistent potential for solving it, for us fixing it."<ref name=gates00/>
Gates was nominated to become the ] (head of the CIA) in early 1987. He withdrew his name after it became clear the Senate would reject the nomination due to controversy about his role in the ].


===Level of involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal=== ===Level of involvement in the Iran–Contra scandal===
Because of his senior status in the CIA, Gates was close to many figures who played significant roles in the ] and was in a position to have known of their activities. In 1984, as deputy director of CIA, Gates advocated that the U.S. initiate a bombing campaign against Nicaragua and that the U.S. do everything in its power short of direct military invasion of the country to remove the ] government.<ref>Los Angeles Times, Nov. 25, 2006, free archived version at http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1125-04.htm last visited Nov. 26, 2006. </ref> The evidence developed by Independent Counsel did not warrant indictment of Gates for his Iran-Contra activities or his responses to official inquiries. Because of his senior status in the CIA, Gates was close to many figures who played significant roles in the ] and was in a position to have known of their activities. In 1984, as deputy director of CIA, Gates advocated that the U.S. initiate a bombing campaign against ] and that the U.S. do everything in its power short of direct military invasion of the country to remove the ] government.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1125-04.htm|title=''Los Angeles Times'', November 25, 2006, free archived version at commondreams.org, lase visited November 26, 2006|url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070622162909/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1125-04.htm|archive-date=June 22, 2007}}</ref>


Gates was an early subject of Independent Counsel's investigation, but the investigation of Gates intensified in the spring of 1991 as part of a larger inquiry into the Iran/contra activities of CIA officials. This investigation received an additional impetus in May 1991, when President ] nominated Gates to be ] (DCI). The chairman and vice chairman of the ] (SSCI) requested, in a letter to the Independent Counsel on May 15, 1991, any information that would “significantly bear on the fitness” of Gates for the CIA post. Gates was an early subject of Independent Counsel's investigation, but the investigation of Gates intensified in the spring of 1991 as part of a larger inquiry into the Iran–Contra activities of CIA officials. This investigation received an additional impetus in May 1991, when President ] nominated Gates to be ] (DCI). The chairman and vice chairman of the ] (SSCI) requested, in a letter to the ] on May 15, 1991, any information that would "significantly bear on the fitness" of Gates for the CIA post.


Gates consistently testified that he first heard on October 1, 1986, from ], the national intelligence officer who was closest to the Iran initiative, that proceeds from the Iran arms sales may have been diverted to support the ]. Other evidence proves, however, that Gates received a report on the diversion during the summer of 1986 from DDI Richard Kerr.<ref>GlobalSecurity.org. </ref> The issue was whether the Independent Counsel could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Gates was deliberately not telling the truth when he later claimed not to have remembered any reference to the diversion before meeting with Allen in October. Gates consistently testified that he first heard on October 1, 1986, from ], the national intelligence officer who was closest to the Iran initiative, that proceeds from the Iran arms sales may have been diverted to support the ]. Other evidence proves, however, that Gates received a report on the diversion during the summer of 1986 from DDI Richard Kerr.<ref name="Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters; Volume I">{{cite book |last1=Walsh |first1=Lawrence E. |author-link1=Lawrence E. Walsh |date=August 4, 1993 |chapter=Chapter 16: Robert M. Gates |chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pur1.32754064121928&view=2up&seq=250 |title=Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pur1.32754064121928;view=2up;seq=1 |volume=I: Investigations and Prosecutions |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit / United States Government Printing Office |page=223 |isbn=0160430097 |oclc=612998360 |access-date=April 11, 2023 |ref={{harvid|Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters; Volume I|1993}}}}</ref> The issue was whether the Independent Counsel could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Gates was deliberately not telling the truth when he later claimed not to have remembered any reference to the diversion before meeting with Allen in October.
] meets with Robert Gates, General ], Secretary ] and others about the situation in the Persian Gulf and Operation ], January 15, 1991]]


] secrecy rules hampered Independent Counsel's response. Nevertheless, in order to answer questions about Gates' prior testimony, Independent Counsel accelerated his investigation of Gates in the summer of 1991. This investigation was substantially completed by September 3, 1991, at which time Independent Counsel determined that Gates' Iran-Contra activities and testimony did not warrant prosecution. ] secrecy rules hampered Independent Counsel's response. Nevertheless, in order to answer questions about Gates's prior testimony, Independent Counsel accelerated his investigation of Gates in the summer of 1991. This investigation was substantially completed by September 3, 1991, at which time Independent Counsel determined that Gates's Iran–Contra activities and testimony did not warrant prosecution.


Independent Counsel made this decision subject to developments that could have warranted reopening his inquiry, including testimony by ], the CIA's former deputy director for operations. At the time Independent Counsel reached this decision, the possibility remained that George could have provided information warranting reconsideration of Gates's status in the investigation. George refused to cooperate with Independent Counsel and was indicted on September 19, 1991. George subpoenaed Gates to testify as a defense witness at George's first trial in the summer of 1994, but Gates was never called. Independent Counsel made this decision subject to developments that could have warranted reopening his inquiry, including testimony by ], the CIA's former deputy director for operations. At the time Independent Counsel reached this decision, the possibility remained that George could have provided information warranting reconsideration of Gates's status in the investigation. George refused to cooperate with Independent Counsel and was indicted on September 19, 1991. George subpoenaed Gates to testify as a defense witness at George's first trial in the summer of 1994, but Gates was never called.


The final report of the Independent Counsel for ], issued on August 4, 1993, said that Gates "was close to many figures who played significant roles in the Iran/contra affair and was in a position to have known of their activities. The evidence developed by Independent Counsel did not warrant indictment ..."{{sfn|Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters; Volume I|1993}}
Robert Gates had sent a memo to the ] in 1985, urging ] government to sell ] arms during ].<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/23/world/cia-nominee-tied-to-85-memo-urging-iran-arms-deals.html</ref>


==Career after leaving the CIA== ==Career after leaving the CIA==
===1993-1999 === ===1993–1999===
After retiring from the CIA in 1993, Gates worked as an academic and lecturer. He evaluated student theses for the ] Program of the ].{{Fact|date=May 2007}} He lectured at ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and the ].{{Fact|date=May 2007}} Gates served as a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Oklahoma International Programs Center and a trustee of the endowment fund for the College of William and Mary, his ], which in 1998 conferred upon him ] of ]. After retiring from the CIA in 1993, Gates worked as an academic and lecturer. He evaluated student theses for the ] Program of the ]. He lectured at ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and the ]. Gates served as a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Oklahoma International Programs Center and a trustee of the endowment fund for the College of William & Mary, his alma mater, which in 1998 conferred upon him honorary degree of ].<ref name="Honorary degree recipients -- Special Collections Research Center Wiki">{{cite web|url=http://scdb.swem.wm.edu/index.php/Honorary_degrees |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130306042907/http://scdb.swem.wm.edu/index.php/Honorary_degrees|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 6, 2013|title=Honorary degree recipients|work=wm.edu|access-date=April 23, 2014}}</ref> In 1996, Gates's autobiography, ''From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War'', was published. Gates has also written numerous articles on government and foreign policy and has been a frequent contributor to the ] of '']''.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312215202/http://newsarchives.tamu.edu/stories/99/073099-8.html |date=March 12, 2007}}, July 1999.</ref>


===Texas A&M===
In 1996, Gates' ], ''From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War,'' was published. Gates has also written numerous articles on government and foreign policy and has been a frequent contributor to the ] of '']''.<ref>, July 1999. </ref>
] ]]]


Gates was the interim Dean of the ] at ] from 1999 to 2001. On August 1, 2002, he became the 22nd president of Texas A&M. As the university president, Gates made progress in four key areas of the university's "Vision 2020" plan, a plan to become one of the top 10 public universities by 2020. The four key areas include improving student diversity, increasing the size of the faculty, building new academic facilities, and enriching the undergraduate and graduate education experience.<ref name="Robert_Gates">{{cite web| url= http://www.tamu.edu/president/documents/GatesSpeech2005b.pdf | title= Texas A&M Academic Convocation |year= 2005| website= tamu.edu |publisher= Texas A&M University|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060723181701/http://www.tamu.edu/president/documents/GatesSpeech2005b.pdf |archive-date=July 23, 2006 | first= Robert M. |last= Gates}}</ref> During his tenure, Gates encouraged the addition of 440 new faculty positions and a $300&nbsp;million campus construction program, and saw increases in minority enrollment. On February 2, 2007, Gates was conferred the title of president emeritus by unanimous vote of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. Gates and his wife Becky received ] from Texas A&M on August 10, 2007.<ref>{{cite press release |url= http://www.aggieathletics.com/pressRelease.php?SID=MFB&PRID=13187|archive-url= https://archive.today/20070813183209/http://www.aggieathletics.com/pressRelease.php?SID=MFB&PRID=13187|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 13, 2007|title=Aggies Wrap First Week of Fall Camp with Pair of Workouts|publisher=Texas A&M University Athletic Department|access-date=August 15, 2007|date=August 11, 2007}}</ref>
===Texas A&M===
Gates was the interim Dean of the ] at ] from 1999 to 2001. On August 1, 2002, he became the 22nd President of Texas A&M. As the university president, Gates made significant progress in four key areas of the university's "Vision 2020" plan, a plan to become one of the top 10 public universities by the year 2020. The four key areas include improving student diversity, increasing the size of the faculty, building new academic facilities, and enriching the undergraduate and graduate education experience.<ref name="Robert_Gates">"". ''President Robert M. Gates''.</ref> During his tenure, Gates encouraged the addition of 440 new faculty positions and a $300 million campus construction program, and saw dramatic increases in minority enrollment. On February 2, 2007, Gates was conferred the title of President Emeritus by unanimous vote of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. Gates and his wife Becky received ] from Texas A&M on August 10, 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aggieathletics.com/pressRelease.php?SID=MFB&PRID=13187|title=Aggies Wrap First Week of Fall Camp with Pair of Workouts|publisher=Texas A&M University Athletic Department|accessdate=2007-08-15|date=2007-08-11}}</ref>


Gates left the presidency of Texas A&M University on December 16, 2006,<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the Office |url= http://president.tamu.edu/about/history-of-the-office/index.html|publisher=Texas A&M University|access-date=May 7, 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140508042712/http://president.tamu.edu/about/history-of-the-office/index.html |archive-date= May 8, 2014}}</ref> and was sworn in two days later as Secretary of Defense. He returned on April 21, 2009, as the speaker for the annual ] ceremony. He is one of only 6 speakers not to be a graduate of ] since ] spoke in 1946.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://muster.tamu.edu/node/15|title=Speaker|work=tamu.edu|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307021357/http://muster.tamu.edu/node/15|archive-date=March 7, 2009}}</ref> In his affiliation with A&M, Gates has served on the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-appoints-national-security-higher-education-advisory-board|title=FBI Director Appoints National Security Higher Education Advisory Board|work=FBI|access-date=July 28, 2016|archive-date=June 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601200758/https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-appoints-national-security-higher-education-advisory-board|url-status=live}}</ref>
Gates returned to Texas A&M on April 21, 2009, as the speaker at of annual ] ceremony. He is one of only 5 speakers not to be a graduate of ] since ] spoke in 1946.<ref>http://muster.tamu.edu/node/15</ref>


===Corporate boards === ===Corporate boards===
Gates has been a member of the board of trustees of ], and on the board of directors of ], Inc., ], Inc., ], ], and VoteHere, a technology company which sought to provide ] and computer software security for the electronic election industry.<ref> Gates has been a member of the board of trustees of ], and on the board of directors of ], Inc., ], Inc., Parker Drilling Company, ], and VoteHere, a technology company which sought to provide ] and computer software security for the electronic election industry.<ref>{{cite web|first=Mark|last=Lewellen-Biddle|url=http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/voting_machines_gone_wild|title=Voting Machines Gone Wild!|work=In These Times|date=December 11, 2003|access-date=September 25, 2007|archive-date=November 24, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061124155304/http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/voting_machines_gone_wild|url-status=live}}</ref> Following his nomination, a White House spokeswoman said that Gates planned to sell all the stock he owns in individual companies and sever all ties with them if confirmed by the Senate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/06/AR2006120600188.html|title=Gates' Assets Include Defense Stock|first=Sharon|last=Theimer|newspaper=The Washington Post|agency=Associated Press|date=December 6, 2006|access-date=September 25, 2007|archive-date=June 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604154819/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/06/AR2006120600188.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{cite web
| first = Mark
| last = Lewellen-Biddle
| url = http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/voting_machines_gone_wild
| title =Voting Machines Gone Wild!
| publisher =In These Times
| date = December 11, 2003
| accessdate = 2007-09-25
}}</ref> A White House spokeswoman has said Gates plans to sell all the stock he owns in individual companies and sever all ties with them if confirmed by the Senate.<ref> {{cite web
| url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/06/AR2006120600188.html
| title = Gates' Assets Include Defense Stock
| first = Sharon
| last = Theimer
|publisher = Washington Post / Associated Press
| date = December 6, 2006; 3:54 AM
| accessdate = 2007-09-25
}}</ref>


=== Public service === ===Public service===
] President General ] at ] in 2008.]]
Gates is a former president of the ].<ref name="NESA">{{cite web|url=http://www.scouting.org/Media/ScoutingIntheNews/030802.aspx|title=NESA Mourns Loss of Eagles in Operation Iraqi Freedom|date=2008|publisher=Boy Scouts of America|accessdate=2008-07-07}}</ref>
Gates is a former president of the ].<ref name="NESA">{{cite web|url=http://www.scouting.org/Media/ScoutingIntheNews/030802.aspx|title=NESA Mourns Loss of Eagles in Operation Iraqi Freedom|year=2008|publisher=Boy Scouts of America|access-date=July 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828072641/http://www.scouting.org/Media/ScoutingIntheNews/030802.aspx|archive-date=August 28, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>


In January 2004, Gates co-chaired a ] task force on U.S. relations towards Iran. Among the task force's primary recommendation was to directly engage Iran on a diplomatic level regarding Iranian nuclear technology. Key points included a negotiated position that would allow Iran to develop its nuclear program in exchange for a commitment from Iran to use the program only for peaceful means.<ref>, final report of an independent task force, July 2004, Council of Foreign Relations Press</ref> In January 2004, Gates co-chaired a ] task force on U.S. relations towards Iran. Among the task force's primary recommendation was to directly engage Iran on a diplomatic level regarding Iranian nuclear technology. Key points included a negotiated position that would allow Iran to develop its nuclear program in exchange for a commitment from Iran to use the program only for peaceful means.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061203072555/http://www.cfr.org/publication/7194/iran.html |date=December 3, 2006}}, final report of an independent task force, July 2004, Council of Foreign Relations Press</ref>


At the time of his nomination by President George W. Bush to the position of Secretary of Defense, Gates was also a member of the ], also called the Baker Commission, which was expected to issue its report in November 2006, following the mid-term election on November 7. He was replaced by former ] ]. At the time of his nomination by President George W. Bush to the position of Secretary of Defense, Gates was also a member of the ], also called the Baker Commission, which was expected to issue its report in November 2006, following the mid-term election on November 7. He was replaced by former Secretary of State ].


===Declined appointment as Director of National Intelligence=== ===Declined appointment as Director of National Intelligence===
In February 2005, Gates wrote in a message posted on his school's website that "there seems to be a growing number of rumors in the media and around campus that I am leaving Texas A&M to become the new ] in ]"{{Fact|date=June 2009}} The message said that "To put the rumors to rest, I was indeed asked to take the position, wrestled with perhaps the most difficult — and close — decision of my life, and last week declined the position."{{Fact|date=June 2009}} In February 2005, Gates wrote in a message posted on his school's website that "there seems to be a growing number of rumors in the media and around campus that I am leaving Texas A&M to become the new ] in Washington, D.C." The message said that "To put the rumors to rest, I was indeed asked to take the position, wrestled with perhaps the most difficult—and close—decision of my life, and last week declined the position."<ref name=KBTX>{{cite web|title=Gates Turns Down Bush Administration Position |url=http://www.kbtx.com/news/headlines/1217482.html|publisher=KBTX.com|access-date=July 14, 2012 |date=February 1, 2005|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118011453/http://www.kbtx.com/news/headlines/1217482.html|archive-date=January 18, 2014}}</ref>


Gates committed to remain as President of Texas A&M University through the summer of 2005; President ] offered the position of ] (DNI) to ], who accepted.<ref>{{cite news Gates committed to remain as president of Texas A&M University and President ] offered the position of ] (DNI) to ], who accepted.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/17/intelligence.chief/index.html |url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/17/intelligence.chief/index.html|title=Bush names Negroponte intelligence chief|publisher=CNN|date=February 18, 2005|access-date=November 8, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060922074002/http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/17/intelligence.chief/index.html |archive-date=September 22, 2006}}</ref>
|title=Bush names Negroponte intelligence chief
|work=CNN.com
|date=February 18, 2005
|accessdate=2006-11-08}}</ref>


Gates said in a 2005 discussion with the university's Academy for Future International Leaders that he had tentatively decided to accept the DNI position out of a sense of duty and had written an email that would be sent to students during the press conference to announce his decision, explaining that he was leaving to serve the U.S. once again. Gates, however, took the weekend to consider what his final decision should be, and ultimately decided that he was unwilling to return to Washington, D.C., in any capacity simply because he "had nothing to look forward to in D.C. and plenty to look forward to at A&M."<ref name="CBS1">{{cite web| last = Esterbrook| first = John| title = A Closer Look At Robert Gates| publisher = CBS News| date = 2006-11-08| url = http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/08/terror/main2163357.shtml| accessdate = 2009-02-03}}</ref> Gates said in a 2005 discussion with the university's Academy for Future International Leaders that he had tentatively decided to accept the DNI position out of a sense of duty and had written an email that would be sent to students during the press conference to announce his decision, explaining that he was leaving to serve the U.S. once again. Gates, however, took the weekend to consider what his final decision should be, and ultimately decided that he was unwilling to return to Washington, D.C., in any capacity, simply because he "had nothing to look forward to in D.C. and plenty to look forward to at A&M".<ref name="CBS1">{{cite news|last=Esterbrook|first=John|title=A Closer Look at Robert Gates|publisher=CBS News|date=November 8, 2006|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-closer-look-at-robert-gates/|access-date=February 3, 2009|archive-date=May 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090530012146/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/08/terror/main2163357.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>


==Secretary of Defense== ==Secretary of Defense==
], ], Kosovo]]
===Bush Administration===
]
On November 8, 2006, after the ], President ] announced his intent to nominate Gates to succeed the resigning ] as U.S. Secretary of Defense.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/08/rumsfeld/index.html
|title= Bush replaces Rumsfeld to get 'fresh perspective'
|publisher=CNN.com|date=November 8, 2006
|accessdate=2006-11-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/us/politics/09BUSHCND.html?hp&ex=1163048400&en=90b2a0d9c77157ea&ei=5094&partner=homepage
|title=Rumsfeld Resigns as Defense Secretary After Big Election Gains for Democrats
|author=Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Jim Rutenberg
|work=New York Times
|date=November 8, 2006|accessdate=2006-11-08}}</ref>


===Bush administration===
Gates was unanimously confirmed by the ] ] on December 5, 2006. During his confirmation hearing on December 5, 2006, Senator ] of Michigan asked Gates if he thought the United States was winning the war in Iraq, to which Gates responded: "No, sir." He then went on to say that he did not think the United States was losing the war either.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?id=2330
|title=Senate Confirms Gates as 22nd Defense Secretary ]
On November 8, 2006, after the ], President ] announced his intent to nominate Gates to succeed the resigning ] as U.S. Secretary of Defense.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/08/rumsfeld/index.html|title=Bush replaces Rumsfeld to get 'fresh perspective'|publisher=CNN|date=November 8, 2006|access-date=November 8, 2006|archive-date=June 1, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080601094302/http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/08/rumsfeld/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/us/politics/09BUSHCND.html|title=Rumsfeld Resigns as Defense Secretary After Big Election Gains for Democrats|author=Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Jim Rutenberg|work=The New York Times|date=November 8, 2006|access-date=November 8, 2006|archive-date=July 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715170422/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/us/politics/09BUSHCND.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
|publisher=American Forces Press Service
|author=Jim Garamone
|date=December 6, 2006
|accessdate=2006-12-06}}</ref> The next day, Gates was confirmed by the full Senate by a margin of 95-2, with Republican Senators ] and ] casting the two dissenting votes and senators ], ], and ] not voting.<ref name="Gates confirmed">{{cite news|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16068845/
|title= Robert Gates confirmed as secretary of defense
|publisher=Associated Press|date=December 6, 2006
|accessdate=2006-12-06}}</ref> On December 18, 2006, Gates was sworn in as Secretary of Defense by ] ] at a private ] ceremony and then by Vice President ] at the Pentagon. <ref name="sworn in" />


Gates was unanimously confirmed by the ] ] on December 5, 2006. During his confirmation hearing on December 5, 2006, Gates replied to a question that, in his opinion, the United States was neither winning nor losing the war in Iraq.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?id=2330|title=Senate Confirms Gates as 22nd Defense Secretary|publisher=American Forces Press Service|first=Jim|last=Garamone|date=December 6, 2006|access-date=December 6, 2006|archive-date=December 14, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214094803/http://www.defenselink.mil//News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2330|url-status=live}}</ref> The next day, Gates was confirmed by the full Senate by a margin of 95–2, with Republican Senators ] and ] casting the two dissenting votes and senators ], ], and ] not voting.<ref name="Gates confirmed">{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16068845|title=Robert Gates confirmed as secretary of defense|agency=Associated Press|publisher=NBC News|date=December 6, 2006|access-date=December 6, 2006|archive-date=July 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702085929/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/16068845/|url-status=live}}</ref> On December 18, 2006, Gates was sworn in as Secretary of Defense by ] ] at a private ] ceremony and then by Vice President ] at the Pentagon.<ref name="sworn in">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6190279.stm |title=New US defence secretary sworn in |work=BBC News |date=December 18, 2006 |access-date=December 18, 2006 |archive-date=January 21, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070121053456/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6190279.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>
] Robert Gates gives a ] with a group of Aggie ] at ], ]]]


] at Japan in November 2007]]
Several months after his appointment, '']'' published a series of articles beginning February 18, 2007 that brought to the spotlight the ].<ref>.</ref> As a result of the fallout from the incident, Gates announced the removal of ] ], and later, he approved the removal of Army Surgeon General ].<ref></ref>


Under the Bush administration, Gates directed the war in Iraq's ], a marked change in tactics from his predecessor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=46437|title=Gates: Troop Surge Will Take Time to Judge|publisher=archive.defense.gov|date=June 16, 2007|access-date=July 4, 2020|archive-date=September 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930015001/http://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=46437|url-status=live}}</ref> With violence on the decline in Iraq, in 2008, Gates also began the troop withdrawal of Iraq, a policy continued into the Obama administration.
On June 8, 2007, Gates announced that he would not recommend the renomination of ], the ], due to anticipated difficulties with the confirmation process. Instead, Gates recommended ], the ] at the time, to fill the position.<ref></ref> On June 5, 2008, in response to the findings on Air Force misshipments of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons components, Gates announced the resignations of Secretary of the Air Force ] and Air Force Chief of Staff ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4236
|title= DoD News Briefing with Secretary Gates from the Pentagon
|publisher=U.S. Department of Defense|date=2008-06-05
|accessdate=2008-06-05}}</ref>


], Admiral ] and General ] in Baghdad, Iraq]]
Under the Bush administration, Gates oversaw the war in Iraq's ] a marked change in tactics from his predecessor. With violence seemingly on the decline in Iraq, in 2008, Gates also begun the troop withdrawal of Iraq, a policy continued into the Obama administration.


====Walter Reed Medical Center scandal====
===Obama Administration===
Several months after his appointment, '']'' published a series of articles beginning February 18, 2007, that brought to the spotlight the ].<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2007/02/21/LI2007022100671.html| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080107185011/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2007/02/21/LI2007022100671.html |archive-date= January 7, 2008| url-status= dead | newspaper= The Washington Post| date= February 21, 2007| title= | access-date= September 4, 2019}}</ref> As a result of the fallout from the incident, Gates announced the removal of ] ], and later, he approved the removal of Army Surgeon General ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/12/kiley.retire/index.html|title=Army surgeon general ousted amid Walter Reed scandal|date=March 12, 2007|publisher=CNN|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008023802/http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/12/kiley.retire/index.html|archive-date=October 8, 2008}}</ref>
On ], ], President-elect Obama announced that Robert Gates would remain in his position as Secretary of Defense during his administration,<ref name="change.gov 1Dec08-1"/> reportedly for at least the first year of Obama's presidency.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/11/gates-cabinet-a.html |title= Gates Cabinet Appointment 'A Done Deal' |work=Political Radar |format=Blog |publisher=]|date=25 November 2008 |accessdate=Novemebr 25, 2008}}</ref> Gates is the fourteenth Cabinet member in history to serve under two Presidents of different parties. One of the first priorities under President Barack Obama’s administration for Gates will be a review of U.S. policy and strategy in ].<ref name="bloom-2dec08">{{cite news|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ad9s4rYeO7d8&refer=home |format=Article |title=Gates Says Review of Afghanistan Policy Will Be ‘High Priority’ |work=Worldwide News |last=Fireman |first=Ken |coauthors=Capaccio, Tony |publisher=]|date=2 December 2008 |accessdate=December 2, 2008}}</ref> Gates, sixth in the ], was selected as ] during Obama's inauguration.<ref>{{cite web |author=CNN |title=Defense Secretary Gates to be 'designated successor' Tuesday |work=CNN |publisher=CNN |date=20 January 2009 |url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/19/defense-secretary-gates-to-be-designated-successor-tuesday/ |format=News article |accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref> On March 1, 2009 he told ] on '']'' that he would not commit to how long he would serve as Secretary of Defense but implied that he would not serve the entire first term.<ref></ref>


====Controversy over Joint Chiefs====
In addition to the troop withdrawals already begun in the Bush administration, Gates has implemented several policies under the new administration. Gates has implemented a limited surge of troops in Afghanistan<ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/US/Gates-against-further-surge-of-US-troops-in-Afghanistan/articleshow/4480334.cms</ref>. In April 2009, Gates has proposed a large shift in budget priorities in the US Department of Defense 2010 budget. The budget cuts many programs geared toward conventional warfare such as the end of new orders of the ] and further development of ] manned vehicles, but increases funding for programs like the ].<ref name=cut> ''CNN'', 9 April 2009. Retrieved: 14 April 2009.</ref> Gates called this the "nation’s first truly 21st century defense budget."<ref></ref>
On June 8, 2007, Gates announced that he would not recommend the renomination of ], the ], due to anticipated difficulties with the confirmation process. Instead, Gates recommended ], the ] at the time, to fill the position. Gates stated: "I am no stranger to contentious confirmations, and I do not shrink from them. However, I have decided that at this moment in our history, the nation, our men and women in uniform, and General Pace himself would not be well-served by a divisive ordeal in selecting the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff." Gates referred to Pace as a friend and praised his service as a Marine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=3984|title=DoD News Briefing with Secretary Robert Gates from the Pentagon|date=June 8, 2007|website=U.S. Department of Defense|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714081418/http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=3984|archive-date=July 14, 2015}}</ref>

====Misshipments of nuclear weapons====
On June 5, 2008, in response to the findings on Air Force misshipments of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons components, Gates announced the resignations of Secretary of the Air Force ] and Air Force Chief of Staff ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4236 |title=DoD News Briefing with Secretary Gates from the Pentagon |publisher=U.S. Department of Defense |date=June 5, 2008 |access-date=June 5, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080606174140/http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4236 |archive-date=June 6, 2008}}</ref> Gates would later write that the USAF was "one of my biggest headaches" during his time in the office.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.airforcemag.com/Features/Pages/2014/box020514gates.aspx |title=Gates Versus the Air Force |date=February 5, 2014 |website=airforcemag.com |publisher=Air Force Association |access-date=February 6, 2014 |archive-date=February 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221173444/http://www.airforcemag.com/Features/Pages/2014/box020514gates.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Obama administration===
] at ] in 2009]]
On December 1, 2008, President-elect Obama announced that Robert Gates would remain in his position as Secretary of Defense during his administration,<ref name="change.gov 1Dec08-1"/> reportedly for at least the first year of Obama's presidency.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/11/gates-cabinet-a.html |title=Gates Cabinet Appointment 'A Done Deal' |work=Political Radar |format=Blog |publisher=] |date=November 25, 2008 |access-date=November 25, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090127015411/http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/11/gates-cabinet-a.html |archive-date=January 27, 2009}}</ref> Gates was the fourteenth Cabinet member in history to serve under two presidents of different parties, and the first to do so as Secretary of Defense. One of the first priorities under President Barack Obama's administration for Gates was a review of U.S. policy and strategy in ].<ref name="bloom-2dec08">{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ad9s4rYeO7d8&refer=home |format=Article |title=Gates Says Review of Afghanistan Policy Will Be 'High Priority' |work=Worldwide News |last=Fireman |first=Ken |author2=Capaccio, Tony |publisher=] |date=December 2, 2008 |access-date=December 2, 2008 |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124014159/https://www.bloomberg.com/politics?pid=20601087&refer=home&sid=ad9s4rYeO7d8 |url-status=live}}</ref> Gates, sixth in the ], was selected as ] during Obama's inauguration.<ref>{{cite news |title=Defense Secretary Gates to be 'designated successor' Tuesday |publisher=CNN |date=January 20, 2009 |url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/19/defense-secretary-gates-to-be-designated-successor-tuesday/ |access-date=January 20, 2009 |archive-date=March 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325095826/https://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/19/defense-secretary-gates-to-be-designated-successor-tuesday/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> On March 1, 2009, he told ] on '']'' that he would not commit to how long he would serve as Secretary of Defense but implied that he would not serve the entire first term.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/02/us/politics/02gates.html|work=The New York Times|title=Gates Defends Iraq Withdrawal Plan|date=March 2, 2009|access-date=March 27, 2010|first=Emily S.|last=Rueb|archive-date=June 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613025635/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/02/us/politics/02gates.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

] (D-West Virginia, far right) shakes hands with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, while Sens. ] (D-Vermont, center right) and ] (D-Iowa) look on. The hearing was held to discuss further funding for the ].]]

While Gates continued the troop withdrawals in Iraq, which already had begun in the Bush administration, he also implemented a rapid, limited surge of troops in Afghanistan in 2009.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/US/Gates-against-further-surge-of-US-troops-in-Afghanistan/articleshow/4480334.cms |work=The Times of India |title=Gates against further surge of US troops in Afghanistan |date=May 4, 2009 |access-date=June 12, 2009 |archive-date=May 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505055752/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/US/Gates-against-further-surge-of-US-troops-in-Afghanistan/articleshow/4480334.cms |url-status=live}}</ref> Robert Gates removed General ] from command in Afghanistan on May 6, 2009<ref name=WashingtonPost2009-05-12>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/11/AR2009051101864.html |title=Top U.S. Commander in Afghanistan Is Fired|date=May 12, 2009| first= Ann |last= Scott Tyson |newspaper=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204201501/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/11/AR2009051101864.html| url-status=live| archive-date= February 4, 2011}}</ref><ref name=Wjs2009-05-12>{{cite news| url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124206036635107351 |title=U.S. Fires Afghan War Chief: Four-Star General Replaced by Counterinsurgency Expert as Campaign Stumbles|date=May 12, 2009|author-link1= Yochi Dreazen| first1= Yochi J. |last1= Dreazen| first2= Peter| last2= Spiegel |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515124717/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124206036635107351.html |archive-date=May 15, 2009 | url-status=live |work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> and replaced him with General ]. The '']'' called it "a rare decision to remove a wartime commander". The ''Washington Post'' described the replacement as one of several replacements of generals who represented the "traditional Army" with generals "who have pressed for the use of counter-insurgency tactics".<ref name=WashingtonPost2009-05-12/>
] on July 22, 2010.]]
In December 2009, Gates visited Afghanistan following President Barack Obama's announcement of the deployment of 30,000 additional personnel against the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=a.0KlPNAm9fk|title=Karzai Delays Naming Cabinet as Pentagon Chief Lands for Talks|work=bloomberg.com|access-date=March 11, 2017|archive-date=July 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726140146/https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=a.0KlPNAm9fk|url-status=live}}</ref>
] in March 2011|alt=]]
'']'' magazine notes that Gates and U.S. Secretary of State ] have "forged a formidable partnership", speaking frequently, "comparing notes before they go to the White House", meeting with each other weekly and having lunch once a month at either the Pentagon or the State Department.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1960261,00.html| title= What Is Robert Gates Really Fighting For?| first= Elizabeth| last= Rubin| date= February 3, 2010| magazine= Time| access-date= September 4, 2019| archive-date= September 5, 2019| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190905045506/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1960261,00.html| url-status= live}}</ref>

In a March 2010 speech to a NATO conference in Washington, Secretary Gates said that "The demilitarization of Europe—where large swaths of the general public and political class are averse to military force and the risks that go with it—has gone from a blessing in the 20th century to an impediment to achieving real security and lasting peace in the 21st".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/world/europe/04iht-letter.html|title=Shaping Policy by Playing Safe|first=Judy|last=Dempsey|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 3, 2010|access-date=February 18, 2017|archive-date=September 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923135944/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/world/europe/04iht-letter.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

], at the Ministry of Defense in New Delhi, India, February 27, 2008. Gates also met with the Indian Prime Minister during his trip to the region.]]

Gates announced in February 2010 that the department would lift its ban on women serving on ]s.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/us/30brfs-WOMENALLOWED_BRF.html| title= Women Allowed on Submarines| agency= Associated Press| date= April 30, 2010| website= The New York Times| access-date= February 18, 2017| archive-date= June 13, 2018| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180613023121/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/us/30brfs-WOMENALLOWED_BRF.html| url-status= live}}</ref> Gates also prepared the armed forces for the repeal of the ] policy. Since the repeal in 2010, homosexuals are able to serve in the military ].<ref name="Dontask">{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/02/gays.military/index.html |publisher=CNN |title=Gates: Pentagon preparing repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' policy |access-date=May 22, 2010 |date=February 2, 2010 |archive-date=April 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413164830/http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/02/gays.military/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In service of that goal, he announced in late March 2010 the approval of new regulations that would make it more difficult to kick gays out of the military. Gates called the guideline changes, which went into effect immediately, a matter of "common sense and common decency" that would be "an important improvement" allowing the Pentagon to apply current law in "a fairer and more appropriate" manner. The Pentagon's legal counsel, ], said the new regulations are by no means a moratorium on the current law and stressed that cases would move forward under the new standards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/65239-gates-approves-new-regs-on-gays-in-military/|title=Gates approves new regs on gays in military|work=The Hill|date=March 25, 2010|access-date=March 26, 2010|archive-date=March 27, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327160311/http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/89101-gates-approves-new-regs-on-gays-in-military|url-status=live}}</ref>

In August 2010, speaking to '']'' magazine Secretary Gates said that he would remain as Secretary of Defense until 2011 and then retire. "I think that it would be a mistake to wait until January 2012," he said. "This is not the kind of job you want to fill in the spring of an election year."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/08/16/the_transformer|title=The Transformer|work=Foreign Policy|access-date=March 11, 2017|archive-date=October 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019110526/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/08/16/the_transformer|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/secretary-defense-robert-gates-retire-2011-sounds-pretty-good-article-1.205621|work=Daily News|location=New York|title=Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to retire; says '2011 sounds pretty good'|date=August 16, 2010|access-date=October 18, 2021|archive-date=October 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018005322/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/secretary-defense-robert-gates-retire-2011-sounds-pretty-good-article-1.205621|url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2011, Gates directed the role of the United States armed forces in the ]. While aboard a military aircraft on March 20, 2011, Gates told the press that "military forces are just one way to bring stability to Libya".<ref>{{cite web|last=Pellerin|first=Cheryl|date=March 20, 2011|title=Gates: Military Effort in Libya One Part of Solution|url=https://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=63235|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930031615/http://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=63235|archive-date=September 30, 2017|access-date=July 5, 2020|website=archive.defense.gov|publisher=American Forces Press Service}}</ref>

] to monitor the progress of ]]]
Gates was photographed in the ] taken on May 1, 2011, by ] ] that killed ] terrorist organization leader ].<ref name="Crawford">{{cite news
|url = http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/01/the-bin-laden-situation-room-revisited-one-year-later/
|title = The bin Laden Situation Room revisited – One year later
|first = Jamie
|last = Crawford
|date = May 1, 2012
|publisher = CNN – Security Clearance
|access-date = May 4, 2012
|archive-date = March 12, 2017
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170312055020/http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/01/the-bin-laden-situation-room-revisited-one-year-later/
|url-status = dead
}}</ref>

Gates officially retired as Secretary of Defense on July 1, 2011, and was presented the ], the nation's highest civilian award, by President Obama during his retirement ceremony.<ref name="defense.gov"/>

====Fiscal restraint====
Gates's tenure with the Obama administration included a huge shift in military spending. In April 2009, Gates proposed a large shift in budget priorities in the U.S. Department of Defense 2010 budget. The budget cuts included many programs geared toward conventional warfare, such as the end of new orders of the ] and of further development of ] manned vehicles. These cuts were counterbalanced by increases in funding for programs like the ].<ref name=cut>{{Cite web|title=Gates announces major Pentagon priority shifts – CNN|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/06/gates.budget.cuts/index.html|access-date=December 29, 2022|publisher=CNN|archive-date=April 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417041415/http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/06/gates.budget.cuts/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Gates called this the "nation's first truly 21st century defense budget".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1369|title=United States Department of Defense |website=defenselink.mil|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720080444/http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1369|archive-date=July 20, 2009}}</ref> In late April 2010, he suggested the Navy cease funding development of a new multibillion-dollar ballistic missile submarine program on the grounds of cost and relevancy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36572.html|title=Gates confronts cost of new subs|work=Politico|date=April 29, 2010 |access-date=April 30, 2010|archive-date=May 2, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502023327/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36572.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He suggested the hundreds of billions of dollars would be better spent on a new generation of vessels tailored to the threats and tactics more likely to be faced, noting, "Mark my words, the Navy and Marine Corps must be willing to re-examine and question basic assumptions in light of evolving technologies, new threats and budget realities."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailytech.com/Officials+Question+the+Need+For+Expensive+US+Navy+Ships/article18291.htm|title=DailyTech – Officials Question the Need For Expensive U.S. Navy Ships|work=dailytech.com|access-date=May 6, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507011216/http://www.dailytech.com/Officials+Question+the+Need+For+Expensive+US+Navy+Ships/article18291.htm|archive-date=May 7, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> In a speech made on May 8, 2010, Gates stated that he would make politically unpopular cuts to the Pentagon bureaucracy in his future budgets.<ref name="NYTimes Spending">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/us/politics/09gates.html|title=Gates Takes Aim at Pentagon Spending|last=Shanker|first=Thom|date=May 8, 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 9, 2010|archive-date=May 9, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100509101742/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/us/politics/09gates.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="WP Spending">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/08/AR2010050802495.html|title=Gates: Cuts in Pentagon bureaucracy needed to help maintain military force|last=Jaffe|first=Greg|date=May 9, 2010|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=May 9, 2010|archive-date=May 9, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100509101556/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/08/AR2010050802495.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{blockquote|The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, opened a gusher of defense spending that nearly doubled the base budget over the last decade ... Military spending on things large and small can and should expect closer, harsher scrutiny. The gusher has been turned off, and will stay off for a good period of time.<ref name="NYTimes Spending"/><ref name="WP Spending"/>}}

] trainees, ], California, 2010]]

It was announced in August 2010 that Gates was trying to find $100&nbsp;billion in Defense savings through to 2015, in order to instill a "culture of savings and restraint" in the military. Secretary Gates said that "It is important that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past, where tough economic times or the winding down of a military campaign leads to steep and unwise reductions in defense". Gates said "As a matter of principle and political reality, the Department of Defense cannot expect America's elected representatives to approve budget increases each year unless we are doing a good job, indeed everything possible, to make every dollar count".<ref name="the Hill">{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/168569-gates-announces-major-job-cuts-as-pentagon-looks-to-cut-spending/|title=Gates announces major job cuts as Pentagon looks to cut spending|work=The Hill|date=August 9, 2010|access-date=August 16, 2010|archive-date=December 23, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223112914/http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/113393-gates-announces-major-job-cuts-as-pentagon-tightens-belt|url-status=live}}</ref> These cuts included the closing of the ], the redundancy of fifty general and admirals, and the removal of 150 senior civilian positions.

====NATO comments====
On January 16, 2008, Gates was quoted in the '']'' as saying NATO forces in southern Afghanistan do not know how to properly combat a guerrilla insurgency and that could be contributing to rising violence in the country.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usafghan16jan16,1,163569.story?coll=la-headlines-world|work=Los Angeles Times|title=Gates says NATO force unable to fight guerrillas|first=Peter|last=Spiegel|date=January 16, 2008|access-date=May 22, 2010|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080206233513/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usafghan16jan16,1,163569.story?coll=la-headlines-world |archive-date=February 6, 2008}}</ref> The Netherlands<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jan-17-fg-gates17-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|title=U.S. envoy quizzed on Gates' remarks|date=January 17, 2008|access-date=October 18, 2021|archive-date=October 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018005329/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jan-17-fg-gates17-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and United Kingdom<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3201002.ece|work=The Times|location=London|title=Outrage as US accuses Britain of inexperience in Taleban conflict|date=January 17, 2008|access-date=March 27, 2010|first=Michael|last=Evans|archive-date=June 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604195250/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3201002.ece|url-status=dead}}</ref> protested.

In a June 10, 2011, speech in Brussels,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defense.gov/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1581|title=Speech View|work=defense.gov|access-date=June 12, 2011|archive-date=June 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610162640/http://www.defense.gov/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1581|url-status=live}}</ref> before NATO, Gates again stated that other NATO members must do more as the United States tackles its budget deficit. He said bluntly that<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/11/world/europe/11gates.html|work=The New York Times|location=U.S.|title=Defense Secretary Warns NATO of 'Dim' Future|date=June 10, 2011|access-date=June 10, 2011|first=Thom|last=Shanker|archive-date=June 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613153804/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/11/world/europe/11gates.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

<blockquote>In the past, I've worried openly about NATO turning into a two-tiered alliance: Between members who specialize in "soft" humanitarian, development, peacekeeping and talking tasks, and those conducting the "hard" combat missions. Between those willing and able to pay the price and bear the burdens of alliance commitments, and those who enjoy the benefits of NATO membership—be they security guarantees or headquarters billets—but don't want to share the risks and the costs. This is no longer a hypothetical worry. We are there today. And it is unacceptable. The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the U.S. Congress—and in the American body politic writ large—to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense. Nations apparently willing and eager for American taxpayers to assume the growing security burden left by reductions in European defense budgets. Indeed, if current trends in the decline of European defense capabilities are not halted and reversed, future U.S. political leaders—those for whom the Cold War was not the formative experience that it was for me—may not consider the return on America's investment in NATO worth the cost.</blockquote>

==College chancellor (2011–2025)==
] speaks with Robert Gates and ], November 2013]]
] in 2016]]

On September 6, 2011, it was announced that Gates had accepted the position of chancellor at the ], succeeding ] for a seven-year term.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/checkpoint-washington/post/gates-takes-chancellors-post-at-william-and-mary/2011/09/06/gIQA3jKl6J_blog.html|title=Gates takes chancellor's post at William and Mary|last=Ukman|first=Jason|date=September 6, 2011|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113080236/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/checkpoint-washington/post/gates-takes-chancellors-post-at-william-and-mary/2011/09/06/gIQA3jKl6J_blog.html|archive-date=November 13, 2012}}</ref> He took the office of the chancellor on February 3, 2012.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post_now/post/gates-becomes-newest-william-and-mary-chancellor/2012/02/03/gIQAxeCumQ_blog.html|title=Gates becomes newest William and Mary chancellor|last=Karas|first=Rachel|date=February 3, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523143852/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post_now/post/gates-becomes-newest-william-and-mary-chancellor/2012/02/03/gIQAxeCumQ_blog.html|archive-date=May 23, 2014}}</ref>

In September 2018, Gates was re-appointed to serve a second seven-year term as chancellor at the College of William & Mary.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2018/robert-m.-gates-to-be-reappointed-as-wm-chancellor.php|title=Robert M. Gates to be reappointed as W&M Chancellor|website=wm.edu|access-date=February 14, 2019|archive-date=February 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215050402/https://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2018/robert-m.-gates-to-be-reappointed-as-wm-chancellor.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Extracurricular activities===
Gates is a Principal, along with ], ] and Anja Manuel, in RiceHadleyGates LLC, a strategic consulting firm.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ricehadleygates.com/team/#our-principals|title=The RiceHadleyGates Team|work=Rice Hadley Gates LLC|access-date=September 25, 2014|archive-date=March 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301040807/http://ricehadleygates.com/team/#our-principals|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gates also serves as an honorary director on the board of directors at the ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/about/board-of-directors/|title=Board of Directors|website=Atlantic Council|language=en-US|access-date=February 12, 2020|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308225111/https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/about/board-of-directors/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On May 2, 2012, Starbucks Corporation announced that Gates had been elected to the Starbucks board of directors. He will serve on the board's nominating and corporate governance committee.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/starbucks-names-robert-gates-as-board-member/|title=Starbucks names Robert Gates as board member|agency=Associated Press|date=May 2, 2012|website=The Seattle Times|language=en-US|access-date=January 30, 2020|archive-date=October 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021073024/https://www.seattletimes.com/business/starbucks-names-robert-gates-as-board-member/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On October 30, 2013, the ] announced that Gates had been elected to the National executive board. While on this board, he will serve as the national president-elect. In May 2014, he began a two-year-long term as the ]. ], chairman and chief executive officer of ] Inc. serves under Gates as the president-elect. Gates has succeeded ] as the national president.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bsachief.com/?p=483|title=Chief's Corner|work=Scouting Wire|access-date=October 30, 2013|archive-date=November 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101084604/http://www.bsachief.com/?p=483|url-status=live}}</ref> On May 21, 2015, Gates stated that the "status quo in movement's membership standards cannot be sustained" and that he would no longer seek to revoke the charters of scout units that accept gay adult leaders.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/boy-scouts-leadership-asked-to-end-ban-on-gay-adult-leaders-163750804.html|title=Robert Gates: Boy Scouts' ban on gay troop leaders not sustainable|date=May 21, 2015|work=Yahoo News|access-date=May 21, 2015|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200530220002/https://news.yahoo.com/boy-scouts-leadership-asked-to-end-ban-on-gay-adult-leaders-163750804.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9lbi53aWtpcGVkaWEub3JnLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAey7UwJUqW63zcM4AK9XmcaIDmI1GyDGbrlrBkAW1Nat6PxaBO2wBOu1oIoA0kO0s5fCQtkP0ga_7FnUZFVdGgY3xjYt1rI2u1kLcZ3aySb6j44tjr0EDxjvuY5m-Xx3ciHmAgrHaiHA7SJj6WG6Fw6NdNbk5LYXL6qM_rkFNEj|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the wake of the ] in March 2014, Gates wrote an ] piece on ], Russian expansionism, the nascent sanctions regime, the US military budget, and the need for bold leadership.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303725404579460183854574284?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303725404579460183854574284.html|title=Robert Gates: Putin's Challenge to the West – WSJ|first=Robert M.|last=Gates|date=March 25, 2014|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=March 14, 2017|archive-date=June 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607081229/http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303725404579460183854574284?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303725404579460183854574284.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gates, along with former Secretary of State ] and other Republican former foreign policy officials, recommended to incoming president ] that ] CEO ] be considered for the Trump administration as Secretary of State.<ref>{{cite news |title=How Rex Tillerson, a Late Entry to Be Secretary of State, Got Donald Trump's Nod |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |first1=Peter |last1=Nicholas |first2=Michael C. |last2=Bender |first3=Carol E. |last3=Lee |date=December 14, 2016 |access-date=August 17, 2018 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-rex-tillerson-a-late-entry-to-be-secretary-of-state-got-donald-trumps-nod-1481676709 |archive-date=August 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817193317/https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-rex-tillerson-a-late-entry-to-be-secretary-of-state-got-donald-trumps-nod-1481676709 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/13/politics/rex-tillerson-robert-gates-condoleezza-rice/index.html|publisher=CNN|title=GOP heavyweights with ties to Exxon pushed Tillerson|first1=Theodore|last1=Schleifer|first2=Elise|last2=Labott|first3=Gregory|last3=Krieg|date=December 13, 2016|access-date=August 17, 2018|archive-date=August 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817162942/https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/13/politics/rex-tillerson-robert-gates-condoleezza-rice/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gates, along with all other living former secretaries of defense, ten in total, published a ''Washington Post'' op-ed piece 3 January 2021 telling President Trump not to involve the military in determining the outcome of the 2020 elections.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/former-defense-secretaries-rebuke-trump-election/2021/01/03/1c708f64-4de5-11eb-b2e8-3339e73d9da2_story.html|title=All 10 living former defense secretaries: Involving the military in election disputes would cross into dangerous territory|access-date=January 3, 2021|date=January 3, 2021|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en-US|archive-date=January 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103225537/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/former-defense-secretaries-rebuke-trump-election/2021/01/03/1c708f64-4de5-11eb-b2e8-3339e73d9da2_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the ], Gates participated as a member of the National Advisory Council for the COVID Collaborative.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.covidcollaborative.us/about |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220515111049/https://www.covidcollaborative.us/about |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |access-date=June 1, 2022 |website=COVID Collaborative |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Memoirs===
In his memoir, ''Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War'', Gates alternately criticized and praised Obama's military leadership, writing, "I never doubted support for the troops, only his support for their mission ", and "I was very proud to work for a president who had made one of the most courageous decisions I had ever witnessed in the White House" by authorizing the 2011 raid that killed ].<ref name=bbcmem>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25645855|title=Pentagon ex-head Gates criticises Obama's Afghan tactics|work=]|access-date=January 8, 2013|archive-date=January 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108084654/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25645855|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-pn-gates-book-obama-20140107,0,1276282.story|title=Ex-Defense Secretary Robert Gates has harsh words for Obama and Biden|date=January 7, 2014|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 9, 2014|first=David S.|last=Cloud|archive-date=January 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109083634/http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-pn-gates-book-obama-20140107,0,1276282.story|url-status=live}}</ref> Of then Vice-President Joe Biden, Gates wrote "“I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”


==Criticism== ==Criticism==
] ] hearing on December 5, 2006]]
As deputy director and director of America's leading intelligence agency for many years, Gates and his CIA staff have been faulted for failing to accurately gauge the decline and disintegration of the Soviet Union. More particularly, Gates has been criticized for concocting evidence to show that the Soviet Union was stronger than it actually was, and also for repeatedly skewing intelligence to promote a particular worldview.<ref name="Newsweek">{{cite news | title = Old Names, Old Scandals | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15627855/site/newsweek | publisher = ] | date = 2006-11-08}}</ref> Also, according to Newsweek, Gates, as deputy director of CIA, allegedly vouched for the comprehensiveness of a CIA study presented to the Senate and President Reagan alleging that the Soviet Union played a role in the ] of ]. A CIA internal review later denounced the report as being skewed,<ref name="Newsweek"/> but that Gates did not try to influence the report's conclusions.<ref>{{cite news | title = In Rebuttal to Senate Panel, C.I.A. Nominee Seems Truthful but Incomplete | publisher = The New York Times | 1991-10-13}}</ref> As deputy director and director of America's leading intelligence agency for many years, Gates and his CIA staff have been faulted for failing to accurately gauge the decline and disintegration of the Soviet Union. More particularly, Gates has been criticized for allegedly concocting evidence to show that the Soviet Union was stronger than it actually was.<ref name="Newsweek">{{cite news |title=Old Names, Old Scandals|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15627855/site/newsweek |work=] |date=November 8, 2006|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061118090120/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15627855/site/newsweek/ |archive-date=November 18, 2006}}</ref> ] said that, while Secretary of State from 1982 to 1989, he felt the CIA under Gates was trying to "manipulate" him, that the agency was "a big powerful machine not under good control. I distrust what comes out of it."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Turmoil and Triumph: Diplomacy, Power, and the Victory of the American Deal |last=Schultz|first=George P.|publisher=Scriber|year=1996|location=New York, NY |at=}}</ref> Shultz personally convinced Reagan that the U.S. should soften its stance towards the USSR after ] came to power in 1985; Shultz told Gates at the time that his CIA was "usually wrong" about the Soviet Union, having dismissed Gorbachev's policies as "just another Soviet attempt to deceive us."<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Lost Equilibrium: International Relations in the Post-Soviet Era|editor-first1=Bettie M.|editor-last1=Smolansky|editor-first2=Oles M.|editor-last2=Smolansky|year=2001|page=}}</ref> In 1991, ], former ], described the "enormity of this failure to forecast the magnitude of the Soviet crisis. ... I never heard a suggestion from the CIA ... that numerous Soviets recognized a growing systemic economic problem."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Moynihan|first1=Daniel P.|last2=Combest|first2=Larry|year=1997|title=Secrecy: Report of the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy|location=Washington, DC |publisher=Government Printing Office|page= }}</ref> Turner said this failure was a consequence of deliberate distortion by those in the upper echelon of the CIA who were helping to sell the Reagan administration's defense buildup, a view backed by former CIA analyst ] at Gates's 1991 confirmation hearings: " Casey]] seized on every opportunity to exaggerate the Soviet threat ... Gates' role in this activity was to corrupt the process and the ethics of intelligence."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Diamond|first=John M.|year=2008|title=The CIA and the Culture of Failure: U.S. Intelligence from the End of the Cold War to the Invasion of Iraq|location=Stanford, CA |publisher=Stanford University Press|page= |isbn= 978-0-804-75601-3}}</ref> Reviewing the third installment of Gates's memoirs in 2016, Goodman said, "In my 24 years at the CIA, there was never the kind of toxic atmosphere that existed when Gates served as deputy director for intelligence, deputy director of CIA, and finally director of CIA."<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Reality of Robert Gates|url=https://consortiumnews.com/2016/02/04/the-reality-of-robert-gates-2/|access-date=February 10, 2016|date=February 4, 2016|last=Goodman|first=Melvin A.|website=]|archive-date=February 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206082416/https://consortiumnews.com/2016/02/04/the-reality-of-robert-gates-2/|url-status=live}}</ref> Also, according to '']'', Gates, as deputy director of CIA, allegedly vouched for the comprehensiveness of a CIA study presented to the Senate and President Reagan alleging that the Soviet Union played a role in the ] of ]. A CIA internal review later denounced the report as being skewed,<ref name="Newsweek"/> but that Gates did not try to influence the report's conclusions.<ref>{{cite news|title=In Rebuttal to Senate Panel, C.I.A. Nominee Seems Truthful but Incomplete|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/13/us/in-rebuttal-to-senate-panel-cia-nominee-seems-truthful-but-incomplete.html|work=The New York Times|date=October 13, 1991|access-date=October 18, 2021|archive-date=October 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018004451/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/13/us/in-rebuttal-to-senate-panel-cia-nominee-seems-truthful-but-incomplete.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Shortly after his retirement from his tenure as Defense Secretary in summer 2011, during a meeting of the ] Principals Committee, Gates highlighted many of the measures taken by the U.S. to advance Israel's security during the Obama administration, including providing access to state of the art weaponry, assisting with the development of missile-defense systems, and sharing high-level intelligence, before expressing his view that the U.S. has received nothing in return from the Israeli government with regard to the peace process. According to senior U.S. administration sources, other officials present offered no rebuttal to Gates's analysis. This was not the first time Gates publicly expressed frustration with the ] government, with which he had worked hard to provide wide-scale and deep military cooperation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-06/robert-gates-says-israel-is-an-ungrateful-ally-jeffrey-goldberg.html|work=Bloomberg.com|date=September 5, 2011|title=Robert Gates Says Israel Is an Ungrateful Ally|first=Jeffrey|last=Goldberg|access-date=March 11, 2017|archive-date=February 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213214542/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-06/robert-gates-says-israel-is-an-ungrateful-ally-jeffrey-goldberg.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{additional citation needed|date=August 2024}} The ] party of Israel responded to Gates's description of ] as a danger to Israel's future by claiming that most Israelis support the prime minister.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/likud-defends-netanyahu-after-report-gates-called-him-ungrateful-1.382875| title= Likud defends Netanyahu after report Gates called him 'ungrateful'| newspaper= ]| date= September 6, 2011| access-date= September 7, 2011| archive-date= September 6, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110906150408/http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/likud-defends-netanyahu-after-report-gates-called-him-ungrateful-1.382875| url-status= live}}</ref>


===NATO Comments=== ==Publications==
===Articles===
On January 16, 2008, Gates was quoted in the ] as saying NATO forces in southern Afghanistan do not know how to properly combat a guerrilla insurgency and that could be contributing to rising violence in the country.<ref>http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usafghan16jan16,1,163569.story?coll=la-headlines-world&ctrack=2&cset=true</ref> The Netherlands<ref>http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gates17jan17,1,6875867.story?coll=la-headlines-world&ctrack=1&cset=true</ref> and United Kingdom<ref>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3201002.ece</ref> protested.
*The Dysfunctional Superpower, '']'', September 29, 2023<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gates |first=Robert M. |date=2023-09-29 |title=The Dysfunctional Superpower |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/robert-gates-america-china-russia-dysfunctional-superpower |access-date=2024-01-10 |work=Foreign Affairs |language=en-US |issue=November/December 2023 |issn=0015-7120}}</ref>
*The Scowcroft Model, ''Foreign Affairs'', August 13, 2020<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gates |first=Robert M. |date=2020-08-13 |title=The Scowcroft Model |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2020-08-13/scowcroft-model |access-date=2024-01-10 |work=Foreign Affairs |language=en-US |issn=0015-7120}}</ref>
*The Overmilitarization of American Foreign Policy, ''Foreign Affairs'', June 2, 2020<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gates |first=Robert M. |date=2020-06-02 |title=The Overmilitarization of American Foreign Policy |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2020-06-02/robert-gates-overmilitarization-american-foreign-policy |access-date=2024-01-10 |work=Foreign Affairs |language=en-US |issue=July/August 2020 |issn=0015-7120}}</ref>
*Helping Others Defend Themselves, ''Foreign Affairs'', May 1, 2010<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gates |first=Robert M. |date=2010-05-01 |title=Helping Others Defend Themselves |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2010-05-01/helping-others-defend-themselves |access-date=2024-01-10 |work=Foreign Affairs |language=en-US |issue=May/June 2010 |issn=0015-7120}}</ref>
*A Balanced Strategy, ''Foreign Affairs'', January 1, 2009<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gates |first=Robert M. |date=2009-01-01 |title=A Balanced Strategy |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2009-01-01/balanced-strategy |access-date=2024-01-10 |work=Foreign Affairs |language=en-US |issue=January/February 2009 |issn=0015-7120}}</ref>
*The CIA and Foreign Policy, ''Foreign Affairs'', December 1, 1987<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gates |first=Robert M. |date=1987-12-01 |title=The CIA and Foreign Policy |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/1987-12-01/cia-and-foreign-policy |access-date=2024-01-10 |work=Foreign Affairs |language=en-US |issue=Winter 1987/88 |issn=0015-7120}}</ref>


==Awards and decorations== ==Awards and decorations==
Gates's awards and decorations include:
]
Gates' awards and decorations include:


;Government awards ;Government awards
*] ]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna43591679|title=Obama honors Gates on last day as defense chief|agency=Associated Press|publisher=NBC News|date=June 30, 2011|access-date=November 26, 2022|archive-date=November 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126231002/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna43591679|url-status=live}}</ref>
*]
*] ]
*]
*] ]
*] (2 awards)
*] (3 awards) *] ] (2 awards)
*] ] (3 awards)


;Other awards ;Other awards
*] (2011)
*] *]
*] *]
*]
*Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from ]
*], ]
*] Alumni Association - Alumni Medallion
*] (DSA), ], August 4, 2015
*] Hall of Honor (First Non-Corps Honoree) - Texas A&M University
*Honorary ] from ]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.k-state.edu/about/history-traditions/honorary-degrees/|title=Honorary degrees &#124; Kansas State University|website=k-state.edu|access-date=December 29, 2022|archive-date=December 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229212934/https://www.k-state.edu/about/history-traditions/honorary-degrees/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* - George Bush Presidential Library Foundation
*Honorary ] from ]
*Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from ]
*Honorary ]<ref>{{cite news |last=Troyer |first=Rebecca M. |date=December 19, 2009 |title=IU Winter Commencement 2009: Robert Gates to IU grads: 'America needs the best and brightest' |url=https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/2009/12/19/robert-gates-to-iu-grads-america-needs-the-best-and-brightes/48106695/ |work=Herald Times |location=Bloomington, Indiana |access-date=November 26, 2022 |archive-date=November 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126231227/https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/2009/12/19/robert-gates-to-iu-grads-america-needs-the-best-and-brightes/48106695/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
*Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from ]
*Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from ]
*Honorary ] from the ]
*Honorary ] from ]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.nd.edu/news/12-distinguished-figures-to-join-gates-as-honorary-degree-recipients/|title=12 distinguished figures to join Gates as honorary degree recipients|first=Dennis|last=Brown|website=Notre Dame News|date=March 23, 2011 |access-date=December 29, 2022|archive-date=December 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229212933/https://news.nd.edu/news/12-distinguished-figures-to-join-gates-as-honorary-degree-recipients/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*College of William and Mary – ]
*College of William and Mary Alumni Association – Alumni Medallion
*] Hall of Honor (First and only Non-Corps Honoree) – Texas A&M University
*] of 1978
*Golden Plate Award of the ] (1992)<ref>{{cite web|title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement|website=achievement.org|publisher=]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#public-service|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=December 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215023909/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#public-service|url-status=live}}</ref>
* – George Bush Presidential Library Foundation
*] Magazine: Person of the Year 2008<ref>AW & ST, January 14, 2013, issue, page 47</ref>
*] Man of the Year 2010<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtvu.com/on-campus/honors/man-of-the-year-secretary-of-defense-robert-gates/| title=Man of the Year: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates|work=]| publisher=]|date=December 29, 2010| access-date=December 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108075910/http://www.mtvu.com/on-campus/honors/man-of-the-year-secretary-of-defense-robert-gates/|archive-date=January 8, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/defense-secretary-robert-gates-man-year-award-mtvu/story?id=12468294| title=mtvU: Defense Secretary is a Rock Star| work=]| date=December 23, 2010| access-date=December 4, 2011| last=Martinez| first=Luis| archive-date=January 12, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112145936/http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/defense-secretary-robert-gates-man-year-award-mtvu/story?id=12468294| url-status=live}}</ref>
*'']'''s list of top global thinkers for "being America's last ] figure"<ref>{{cite web| url= https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/11/28/the_fp_top_100_global_thinkers?page=0,34|title=The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers| work= ]|date=November 28, 2011|access-date=December 4, 2011| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111130230013/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/11/28/the_fp_top_100_global_thinkers?page=0,34|archive-date=November 30, 2011| df=mdy-all}}</ref>
*Sylvanus Thayer Award (United States Military Academy)<ref>{{cite web |title=Gates named recipient of 2011 Sylvanus Thayer Award |date=March 9, 2011 |url=http://www.army.mil/article/53011/Gates_named_recipient_of_2011_Sylvanus_Thayer_Award/ |access-date=March 8, 2012 |archive-date=August 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808221915/http://www.army.mil/article/53011/Gates_named_recipient_of_2011_Sylvanus_Thayer_Award/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
*], ], 2011<ref>{{Cite web|title=Newington Town Crier – 11-11-2011 by Bristol Press / New Britain Herald – Issuu|date=November 11, 2011 |url=https://issuu.com/wrossinc/docs/11-11-11-ntc_flipbook|access-date=December 29, 2022|via=Issuu|language=en|archive-date=December 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229212755/https://issuu.com/wrossinc/docs/11-11-11-ntc_flipbook|url-status=live}}</ref>
*], 1st Degree<ref>{{cite AV media|people=Morrison, Tech. Sergeant Jerry |date=December 12, 2008 |title=Welcome Gift |medium=Photo |url=http://www.defense.gov/HomePagePhotos/LeadPhotoImage.aspx?id=12037 |access-date=January 10, 2015 |format=.jpg |publisher=] |quote=U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates receives Bahrain's Order of the First Class Award from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at the Safriya Palace in Manama, Bahrain, December 12, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714081424/http://www.defense.gov/HomePagePhotos/LeadPhotoImage.aspx?id=12037 |archive-date=July 14, 2015}}</ref>
*] ], 2017<ref>{{cite web |title=2017 Autumn Conferment of Decoration Secretary Robert M. Gates |url=https://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/english/html/pressreleases/2017/order-of-the-rising-sun-gates.html |website=us.emb-japan.go.jp |publisher=Embassy of Japan |access-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726184637/https://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/english/html/pressreleases/2017/order-of-the-rising-sun-gates.html |url-status=live}}</ref>


==Notes== ==Bibliography==
*Robert Gates, ''From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five presidents and How They Won the Cold War''. Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (1997). {{ISBN|978-0684810812}}
{{Cleanup-link rot|date=November 2008}}
*Robert Gates, '']''. ] (2014). {{ISBN|978-0307959478}}
{{reflist|3}}
*Robert Gates, ''A Passion for Leadership: Lessons on Change and Reform from Fifty Years of Public Service'' (2016). {{ISBN|978-0307959492}}
*Robert Gates, ''Exercise of Power: American Failures, Successes, and a New Path Forward in the Post-Cold War World''. Alfred A. Knopf (2020) {{ISBN|978-1524731885}}
*Robert Gates, '''', 1999, CIA
*Robert Gates, '''', 2001, PBS.org
*Robert Gates, '''', ''Foreign Affairs'' (January/February 2009)


==References== ==References==
===Citations===
*{{cite web|accessdate=
{{Reflist}}
|url=http://www.tamu.edu/president/biography.html

|title= Biography, Dr. Robert M. Gates, President, Texas A&M University
===Sources===
|publisher=Texas A&M University|year=2003
{{refbegin}}
|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20060920100505/http://www.tamu.edu/president/biography.html
*{{cite web
|archivedate=December 20, 2008}}
|url = http://www.tamu.edu/president/biography.html
*{{cite web|accessdate=
|title = Biography, Robert M. Gates, President, Texas A&M University
|url=http://intellit.muskingum.edu/cia_folder/ciadcis_folder/dcisgates.html
|publisher=Texas A&M University |year=2003
|title= Directors of Central Intelligence: Robert Michael Gates (1943- ), DCI, 6 Nov. 1991-20 Jan. 1993
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060920100505/http://www.tamu.edu/president/biography.html
|work=The Literature of Intelligence: A Bibliography of Materials, with Essays, Reviews, and Comments
|archive-date=September 20, 2006}}
|first=J. Ransom |last=Clark}}
*{{cite web |url = http://intellit.muskingum.edu/cia_folder/ciadcis_folder/dcisgates.html |title = Directors of Central Intelligence: Robert Michael Gates (1943– ), DCI, November 6 1991–January 20 1993 |work=The Literature of Intelligence: A Bibliography of Materials, with Essays, Reviews, and Comments |first=J. Ransom |last=Clark |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051125022807/http://intellit.muskingum.edu/cia_folder/ciadcis_folder/dcisgates.html |archive-date=November 25, 2005}}
*{{cite book *{{cite book
|first=Robert M. |last=Gates |first=Robert M. |last=Gates
|title=From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War |title=From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War
|publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=1997 |isbn=0-684-83497-9}} |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=1997 |isbn=0-684-83497-9}}
*{{cite news|accessdate= *{{cite news
|first=Brett |last=Nauman |first=Brett |last=Nauman
|url=http://www.theeagle.com/aandmnews/020105gates.php |url = http://www.theeagle.com/aandmnews/020105gates.php
|title=Gates passes on intelligence czar post |title=Gates passes on intelligence czar post
|work=The Bryan-College Station Eagle |work=The Bryan-College Station Eagle
|date=February 1, 2005 |date=February 1, 2005
|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070927234236/http://www.theeagle.com/aandmnews/020105gates.php |archive-url = https://archive.today/20070927234236/http://www.theeagle.com/aandmnews/020105gates.php
|archivedate=September 27, 2008}} |archive-date=September 27, 2007}}
*{{cite web|accessdate= *{{cite web
|url=http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MDgatesR.htm |url = https://www.cia.gov/csi/books/dddcia/gates.html
|title=Robert Gates |title = Robert Michael Gates
|work = Directors & Deputy Directors of Central Intelligence
|format=biography
|publisher = Center for the Study of Intelligence, CIA
|publisher= Spartacus Educational}}
|year = 2004
*{{cite web|accessdate=
|url-status = dead
|url=https://www.cia.gov/csi/books/dddcia/gates.html
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060803100100/https://www.cia.gov/csi/books/dddcia/gates.html
|title=Robert Michael Gates
|archive-date = August 3, 2006
|work=Directors & Deputy Directors of Central Intelligence
|df = mdy-all}}
|publisher=Center for the Study of Intelligence, CIA |year=2004}}
{{refend}}


==Further reading== ==Further reading==
*Paul Burka, "", ''Texas Monthly'' (November 2006) *Burka, Paul. "", ''Texas Monthly'' (November 2006)
*Jervis, Robert. "Serving or Self-Serving? A Review Essay of Robert Gates's Memoir." ''Political Science Quarterly'' 129#2 (Summer 2014): pages 319-331.
*Robert Gates, ''From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War'', Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (May 7, 1997).
*Murphey, Dwight D. "A Provocative Look at Robert Gates' ''Memoirs of a Secretary at War'' " ''Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies'' 39#3 (Fall 2014): pages 342-362.
*Robert Gates, '''', 1999, CIA
*Robert Gates, '''', 2001, PBS.org
*Robert Gates, '''', ''Foreign Affairs'' (January/February 2009)


==External links== ==External links==
{{commons}} {{Commons}}
{{wikisource-author|Robert Gates}} {{wikisource author}}
{{wikiquote}}
* A conversation with U.S. Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, December 17, 2008
* at the ]
*Robert Gates'
*Robert Gates's {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100624043518/http://intellit.muskingum.edu/alpha_folder/G_folder/gates.html |date=June 24, 2010 }}
*Gates on relations with China:,
*Robert Gates's
* *
* at Georgetown University Law Library * at Georgetown University Law Library
* - The Iran-Contra Scandal, 1991 Confirmation Hearings, and Excerpts from new book Safe for Democracy
* *
*{{C-SPAN|3932}}
*
*{{Charlie Rose view|2016}}
*
*{{NYTtopic|people/g/robert_m_gates}}
*{{YouTube|YmvqoKdUdq4|Interview}} by ] on The Leon Charney Report. Robert Gates discusses his book "From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five presidents and How They Won the Cold War." October 13, 1996.
*Gates on relations with China: ,
* by Michael Crowley, ''The New Republic'', November 9, 2009
* Robert Gates, former secretary of defense discusses his book "DUTY: Memoirs of a Secretary at War." January 14, 2014.
*{{cite book |author=Senate Select Committee on Intelligence |author-link=United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence |title=Nomination of Robert M. Gates to be Director of Central Intelligence |url=https://archive.org/details/nominationofrobe00test |date=October 24, 1991 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |id=Executive Report 102-19}}


{{s-start}}
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{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the ]|years=1983–1986}}
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{{Navboxes
|list1=
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|SHORT DESCRIPTION=CIA director, U.S. Secretary of Defense, and university president
|DATE OF BIRTH=September 25, 1943
|PLACE OF BIRTH=], ]
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Latest revision as of 00:21, 28 December 2024

22nd United States Secretary of Defense (2006–2011) This article is about the civil servant. For other uses, see Robert Gates (disambiguation).

Robert Gates
Official portrait, 2006
22nd United States Secretary of Defense
In office
December 18, 2006 – June 30, 2011
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Barack Obama
DeputyGordon R. England
William J. Lynn III
Preceded byDonald Rumsfeld
Succeeded byLeon Panetta
24th Chancellor of the College of William & Mary
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 3, 2012
PresidentW. Taylor Reveley III
Katherine Rowe
Preceded bySandra Day O'Connor
22nd President of Texas A&M University
In office
August 1, 2002 – December 16, 2006
Preceded byRay M. Bowen
Succeeded byEd J. Davis (Interim)
15th Director of Central Intelligence
In office
November 6, 1991 – January 20, 1993
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
DeputyRichard James Kerr
William O. Studeman
Preceded byWilliam H. Webster
Succeeded byR. James Woolsey Jr.
Acting
December 18, 1986 – May 26, 1987
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byWilliam J. Casey
Succeeded byWilliam H. Webster
17th United States Deputy National Security Advisor
In office
March 20, 1989 – November 6, 1991
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byJohn Negroponte
Succeeded byJonathan Howe
16th Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
In office
April 18, 1986 – March 20, 1989
PresidentRonald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Preceded byJohn N. McMahon
Succeeded byRichard James Kerr
36th National President of the Boy Scouts of America
In office
2014–2016
Preceded byWayne M. Perry
Succeeded byRandall Stephenson
Personal details
BornRobert Michael Gates
(1943-09-25) September 25, 1943 (age 81)
Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse Becky Wilkie ​(m. 1967)
Children2
EducationCollege of William & Mary (BA)
Indiana University Bloomington (MA)
Georgetown University (PhD)
Signature
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Air Force
Years of service1967–1969
RankFirst lieutenant
Robert Gates's voice Robert Gates announces personnel changes amid Admiral William Fallon's resignation as commander of USCENTCOM
Recorded April 23, 2008

Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was appointed by President George W. Bush and was retained by President Barack Obama. Gates began his career serving as an officer in the United States Air Force but was quickly recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Gates served for twenty-six years in the CIA and at the National Security Council, and was director of central intelligence under President George H. W. Bush from 1991 to 1993. After leaving the CIA, Gates became president of Texas A&M University and was a member of several corporate boards. Gates served as a member of the Iraq Study Group, the bipartisan commission co-chaired by James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton that studied the lessons of the Iraq War.

Gates was nominated by Republican president George W. Bush as secretary of defense in 2006, replacing Donald Rumsfeld. He was confirmed with bipartisan support. In 2007, Time named Gates one of the year's most influential people. In 2008, Gates was named one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report. He continued to serve as secretary of defense in President Barack Obama's administration and retired in 2011. "He'll be remembered for making us aware of the danger of over-reliance on military intervention as an instrument of American foreign policy," said former senator David L. Boren. Gates was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, by President Obama during his retirement ceremony.

Since leaving the Obama administration, Gates was elected president of the Boy Scouts of America, served as Chancellor of the College of William & Mary, and served as a member on several corporate boards. In 2012, Gates was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Early life and education

Gates was born in Wichita, Kansas, the son of Isabel V. (née Goss) and Melville A. "Mel" Gates. Gates attained the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and Silver Buffalo Award from the BSA as an adult. He graduated from Wichita High School East in 1961. Gates is also a Vigil Honor member within the Order of the Arrow, BSA's National Honor Society. He was selected as the 2017 BSA National Alumnus of the Year.

Gates then received a scholarship to attend the College of William & Mary, graduating in 1965 with a B.A. in history. At William & Mary, Gates was an active member and president of the Alpha Phi Omega (national service fraternity) chapter and the Young Republicans; he was also the business manager for the William and Mary Review, a literary and art magazine. At his William & Mary graduation ceremony, Gates received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award naming him the graduate who "has made the greatest contribution to his fellow man".

Gates then received a Master of Arts in the history of Eastern Europe and the south Slavs from Indiana University Bloomington in 1966. He completed his PhD in Russian and Soviet history at Georgetown University in 1974 under Joseph Schiebel, who had been heavily influenced by Karl Wittfogel's studies on "Soviet communism and its resemblance to oriental despotism and the Asiatic mode of production, the role of government in controlling all of society." The title of his Georgetown doctoral dissertation is Soviet Sinology: An Untapped Source for Kremlin Views and Disputes Relating to Contemporary Events in China and is available from University Microfilms International as document number 7421652.

Gates was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from William & Mary (1998), the University of Oklahoma (2011), Georgetown University (2014) and from Kansas State University (2012).

He married Rebecca "Becky" Gates (née Wilkie) on January 7, 1967, and they have two children.

Intelligence career

Junior positions

While at Indiana University, Gates was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency and joined in 1966. On January 4, 1967, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force after attending Officer Training School under CIA sponsorship. From 1967 to 1969, he was assigned to the Strategic Air Command as an intelligence officer, which included a year at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, where he delivered intelligence briefings to Intercontinental Ballistic Missile crews. After fulfilling his military obligation, he rejoined the CIA as an intelligence analyst. He wrote his doctoral thesis while serving as a professional intelligence officer.

Gates left the CIA in 1974 to serve on the staff of the National Security Council. He returned to the CIA in late 1979, serving briefly as the director of the Strategic Evaluation Center, Office of Strategic Research. He was named the director of the DCI/DDCI Executive Staff in 1981, deputy director for intelligence in 1982, and deputy director of central intelligence from April 18, 1986, to March 20, 1989.

Deputy National Security Advisor

Under President George H. W. Bush, Gates was Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from March until August 1989, and was Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser under Brent Scowcroft from August 1989 until November 1991.

Gates was nominated to become the director of central intelligence (head of the CIA) in early 1987. He withdrew his name after it became clear the Senate would reject the nomination due to controversy about his role in the Iran-Contra Affair.

Director of Central Intelligence

Gates while Director of Central Intelligence

Gates was nominated, for the second time, for the position of Director of Central Intelligence by Bush on May 14, 1991, confirmed by the Senate on November 5, and sworn in on November 6.

During a Senate committee hearing on his nomination, former division chief Melvin Goodman testified that the agency was the most corrupt and slanted during the tenure of William Casey with Gates serving as deputy. According to Goodman, Gates was part of an agency leadership that proliferated false information and ignored 'reality'. National Intelligence Council chairman Harold P. Ford testified that during his tenure, Gates had transgressed professional boundaries.

Deputy directors during his tenure were Richard J. Kerr (from November 6, 1991, until March 2, 1992) and Adm. William O. Studeman (from April 9, 1992, through the remainder of Gates's tenure). He served until 1993. It is notable that the reluctance of the Bush administration to involve itself in the breakup of Yugoslavia was due in no small part to three advisors who had deep exposure to the region: Scowcroft, Lawrence Eagleburger and himself: "We saw the historical roots of this conflict and the near nonexistent potential for solving it, for us fixing it."

Level of involvement in the Iran–Contra scandal

Because of his senior status in the CIA, Gates was close to many figures who played significant roles in the Iran–Contra Affair and was in a position to have known of their activities. In 1984, as deputy director of CIA, Gates advocated that the U.S. initiate a bombing campaign against Nicaragua and that the U.S. do everything in its power short of direct military invasion of the country to remove the Sandinista government.

Gates was an early subject of Independent Counsel's investigation, but the investigation of Gates intensified in the spring of 1991 as part of a larger inquiry into the Iran–Contra activities of CIA officials. This investigation received an additional impetus in May 1991, when President George H. W. Bush nominated Gates to be Director of Central Intelligence (DCI). The chairman and vice chairman of the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) requested, in a letter to the independent counsel on May 15, 1991, any information that would "significantly bear on the fitness" of Gates for the CIA post.

Gates consistently testified that he first heard on October 1, 1986, from Charles E. Allen, the national intelligence officer who was closest to the Iran initiative, that proceeds from the Iran arms sales may have been diverted to support the Contras. Other evidence proves, however, that Gates received a report on the diversion during the summer of 1986 from DDI Richard Kerr. The issue was whether the Independent Counsel could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Gates was deliberately not telling the truth when he later claimed not to have remembered any reference to the diversion before meeting with Allen in October.

President George H. W. Bush meets with Robert Gates, General Colin Powell, Secretary Dick Cheney and others about the situation in the Persian Gulf and Operation Desert Shield, January 15, 1991

Grand jury secrecy rules hampered Independent Counsel's response. Nevertheless, in order to answer questions about Gates's prior testimony, Independent Counsel accelerated his investigation of Gates in the summer of 1991. This investigation was substantially completed by September 3, 1991, at which time Independent Counsel determined that Gates's Iran–Contra activities and testimony did not warrant prosecution.

Independent Counsel made this decision subject to developments that could have warranted reopening his inquiry, including testimony by Clair E. George, the CIA's former deputy director for operations. At the time Independent Counsel reached this decision, the possibility remained that George could have provided information warranting reconsideration of Gates's status in the investigation. George refused to cooperate with Independent Counsel and was indicted on September 19, 1991. George subpoenaed Gates to testify as a defense witness at George's first trial in the summer of 1994, but Gates was never called.

The final report of the Independent Counsel for Iran–Contra Scandal, issued on August 4, 1993, said that Gates "was close to many figures who played significant roles in the Iran/contra affair and was in a position to have known of their activities. The evidence developed by Independent Counsel did not warrant indictment ..."

Career after leaving the CIA

1993–1999

After retiring from the CIA in 1993, Gates worked as an academic and lecturer. He evaluated student theses for the International Studies Program of the University of Washington. He lectured at Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Indiana, Louisiana State, Oklahoma, and the College of William & Mary. Gates served as a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Oklahoma International Programs Center and a trustee of the endowment fund for the College of William & Mary, his alma mater, which in 1998 conferred upon him honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. In 1996, Gates's autobiography, From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War, was published. Gates has also written numerous articles on government and foreign policy and has been a frequent contributor to the op-ed page of The New York Times.

Texas A&M

Gates at Texas A&M

Gates was the interim Dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University from 1999 to 2001. On August 1, 2002, he became the 22nd president of Texas A&M. As the university president, Gates made progress in four key areas of the university's "Vision 2020" plan, a plan to become one of the top 10 public universities by 2020. The four key areas include improving student diversity, increasing the size of the faculty, building new academic facilities, and enriching the undergraduate and graduate education experience. During his tenure, Gates encouraged the addition of 440 new faculty positions and a $300 million campus construction program, and saw increases in minority enrollment. On February 2, 2007, Gates was conferred the title of president emeritus by unanimous vote of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. Gates and his wife Becky received honorary doctoral degrees from Texas A&M on August 10, 2007.

Gates left the presidency of Texas A&M University on December 16, 2006, and was sworn in two days later as Secretary of Defense. He returned on April 21, 2009, as the speaker for the annual Aggie Muster ceremony. He is one of only 6 speakers not to be a graduate of Texas A&M University since Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke in 1946. In his affiliation with A&M, Gates has served on the National Security Higher Education Advisory Board.

Corporate boards

Gates has been a member of the board of trustees of Fidelity Investments, and on the board of directors of NACCO Industries, Inc., Brinker International, Inc., Parker Drilling Company, Science Applications International Corporation, and VoteHere, a technology company which sought to provide cryptography and computer software security for the electronic election industry. Following his nomination, a White House spokeswoman said that Gates planned to sell all the stock he owns in individual companies and sever all ties with them if confirmed by the Senate.

Public service

Gates with NSDAR President General Linda Gist Calvin at DAR Constitution Hall in 2008.

Gates is a former president of the National Eagle Scout Association.

In January 2004, Gates co-chaired a Council on Foreign Relations task force on U.S. relations towards Iran. Among the task force's primary recommendation was to directly engage Iran on a diplomatic level regarding Iranian nuclear technology. Key points included a negotiated position that would allow Iran to develop its nuclear program in exchange for a commitment from Iran to use the program only for peaceful means.

At the time of his nomination by President George W. Bush to the position of Secretary of Defense, Gates was also a member of the Iraq Study Group, also called the Baker Commission, which was expected to issue its report in November 2006, following the mid-term election on November 7. He was replaced by former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger.

Declined appointment as Director of National Intelligence

In February 2005, Gates wrote in a message posted on his school's website that "there seems to be a growing number of rumors in the media and around campus that I am leaving Texas A&M to become the new director of national intelligence in Washington, D.C." The message said that "To put the rumors to rest, I was indeed asked to take the position, wrestled with perhaps the most difficult—and close—decision of my life, and last week declined the position."

Gates committed to remain as president of Texas A&M University and President George W. Bush offered the position of United States Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to John Negroponte, who accepted.

Gates said in a 2005 discussion with the university's Academy for Future International Leaders that he had tentatively decided to accept the DNI position out of a sense of duty and had written an email that would be sent to students during the press conference to announce his decision, explaining that he was leaving to serve the U.S. once again. Gates, however, took the weekend to consider what his final decision should be, and ultimately decided that he was unwilling to return to Washington, D.C., in any capacity, simply because he "had nothing to look forward to in D.C. and plenty to look forward to at A&M".

Secretary of Defense

Gates boards a UH-60 Blackhawk, Camp Monteith, Kosovo

Bush administration

Gates being sworn in as Defense Secretary on December 18, 2006

On November 8, 2006, after the 2006 midterm election, President George W. Bush announced his intent to nominate Gates to succeed the resigning Donald Rumsfeld as U.S. Secretary of Defense.

Gates was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate Armed Services Committee on December 5, 2006. During his confirmation hearing on December 5, 2006, Gates replied to a question that, in his opinion, the United States was neither winning nor losing the war in Iraq. The next day, Gates was confirmed by the full Senate by a margin of 95–2, with Republican Senators Rick Santorum and Jim Bunning casting the two dissenting votes and senators Elizabeth Dole, Evan Bayh, and Joe Biden not voting. On December 18, 2006, Gates was sworn in as Secretary of Defense by White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten at a private White House ceremony and then by Vice President Dick Cheney at the Pentagon.

Gates with Japan Minister of Defense Shigeru Ishiba at Japan in November 2007

Under the Bush administration, Gates directed the war in Iraq's troop surge, a marked change in tactics from his predecessor. With violence on the decline in Iraq, in 2008, Gates also began the troop withdrawal of Iraq, a policy continued into the Obama administration.

Gates, Vice President Joe Biden, Admiral Mike Mullen and General Jim Mattis in Baghdad, Iraq

Walter Reed Medical Center scandal

Several months after his appointment, The Washington Post published a series of articles beginning February 18, 2007, that brought to the spotlight the Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal. As a result of the fallout from the incident, Gates announced the removal of Secretary of the Army Francis J. Harvey, and later, he approved the removal of Army Surgeon General Kevin C. Kiley.

Controversy over Joint Chiefs

On June 8, 2007, Gates announced that he would not recommend the renomination of Peter Pace, the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, due to anticipated difficulties with the confirmation process. Instead, Gates recommended Mike Mullen, the Chief of Naval Operations at the time, to fill the position. Gates stated: "I am no stranger to contentious confirmations, and I do not shrink from them. However, I have decided that at this moment in our history, the nation, our men and women in uniform, and General Pace himself would not be well-served by a divisive ordeal in selecting the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff." Gates referred to Pace as a friend and praised his service as a Marine.

Misshipments of nuclear weapons

On June 5, 2008, in response to the findings on Air Force misshipments of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons components, Gates announced the resignations of Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and Air Force Chief of Staff Michael Moseley. Gates would later write that the USAF was "one of my biggest headaches" during his time in the office.

Obama administration

Gates with Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak at the Pentagon in 2009

On December 1, 2008, President-elect Obama announced that Robert Gates would remain in his position as Secretary of Defense during his administration, reportedly for at least the first year of Obama's presidency. Gates was the fourteenth Cabinet member in history to serve under two presidents of different parties, and the first to do so as Secretary of Defense. One of the first priorities under President Barack Obama's administration for Gates was a review of U.S. policy and strategy in Afghanistan. Gates, sixth in the presidential line of succession, was selected as designated survivor during Obama's inauguration. On March 1, 2009, he told David Gregory on Meet the Press that he would not commit to how long he would serve as Secretary of Defense but implied that he would not serve the entire first term.

Former Committee chairman Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia, far right) shakes hands with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, while Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont, center right) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) look on. The hearing was held to discuss further funding for the War in Iraq.

While Gates continued the troop withdrawals in Iraq, which already had begun in the Bush administration, he also implemented a rapid, limited surge of troops in Afghanistan in 2009. Robert Gates removed General David D. McKiernan from command in Afghanistan on May 6, 2009 and replaced him with General Stanley A. McChrystal. The Washington Post called it "a rare decision to remove a wartime commander". The Washington Post described the replacement as one of several replacements of generals who represented the "traditional Army" with generals "who have pressed for the use of counter-insurgency tactics".

Gates is greeted by Indonesian military members after arriving in Jakarta, Indonesia on July 22, 2010.

In December 2009, Gates visited Afghanistan following President Barack Obama's announcement of the deployment of 30,000 additional personnel against the Taliban insurgency.

Gates with Afghan president Hamid Karzai in March 2011

Time magazine notes that Gates and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have "forged a formidable partnership", speaking frequently, "comparing notes before they go to the White House", meeting with each other weekly and having lunch once a month at either the Pentagon or the State Department.

In a March 2010 speech to a NATO conference in Washington, Secretary Gates said that "The demilitarization of Europe—where large swaths of the general public and political class are averse to military force and the risks that go with it—has gone from a blessing in the 20th century to an impediment to achieving real security and lasting peace in the 21st".

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates walks with Indian Defense Minister A. K. Antony, at the Ministry of Defense in New Delhi, India, February 27, 2008. Gates also met with the Indian Prime Minister during his trip to the region.

Gates announced in February 2010 that the department would lift its ban on women serving on submarines. Gates also prepared the armed forces for the repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy. Since the repeal in 2010, homosexuals are able to serve in the military openly. In service of that goal, he announced in late March 2010 the approval of new regulations that would make it more difficult to kick gays out of the military. Gates called the guideline changes, which went into effect immediately, a matter of "common sense and common decency" that would be "an important improvement" allowing the Pentagon to apply current law in "a fairer and more appropriate" manner. The Pentagon's legal counsel, Jeh Johnson, said the new regulations are by no means a moratorium on the current law and stressed that cases would move forward under the new standards.

In August 2010, speaking to Foreign Policy magazine Secretary Gates said that he would remain as Secretary of Defense until 2011 and then retire. "I think that it would be a mistake to wait until January 2012," he said. "This is not the kind of job you want to fill in the spring of an election year."

In March 2011, Gates directed the role of the United States armed forces in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. While aboard a military aircraft on March 20, 2011, Gates told the press that "military forces are just one way to bring stability to Libya".

Gates sitting with Obama, Biden, and the U.S. national security team gathered in the Situation Room to monitor the progress of Operation Neptune Spear

Gates was photographed in the White House Situation Room photograph taken on May 1, 2011, by Pete Souza during the raid that killed Al-Qaeda terrorist organization leader Osama bin Laden.

Gates officially retired as Secretary of Defense on July 1, 2011, and was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, by President Obama during his retirement ceremony.

Fiscal restraint

Gates's tenure with the Obama administration included a huge shift in military spending. In April 2009, Gates proposed a large shift in budget priorities in the U.S. Department of Defense 2010 budget. The budget cuts included many programs geared toward conventional warfare, such as the end of new orders of the F-22 Raptor and of further development of Future Combat Systems manned vehicles. These cuts were counterbalanced by increases in funding for programs like the special forces. Gates called this the "nation's first truly 21st century defense budget". In late April 2010, he suggested the Navy cease funding development of a new multibillion-dollar ballistic missile submarine program on the grounds of cost and relevancy. He suggested the hundreds of billions of dollars would be better spent on a new generation of vessels tailored to the threats and tactics more likely to be faced, noting, "Mark my words, the Navy and Marine Corps must be willing to re-examine and question basic assumptions in light of evolving technologies, new threats and budget realities." In a speech made on May 8, 2010, Gates stated that he would make politically unpopular cuts to the Pentagon bureaucracy in his future budgets.

The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, opened a gusher of defense spending that nearly doubled the base budget over the last decade ... Military spending on things large and small can and should expect closer, harsher scrutiny. The gusher has been turned off, and will stay off for a good period of time.

Gates speaks to Navy SEAL trainees, NAB Coronado, California, 2010

It was announced in August 2010 that Gates was trying to find $100 billion in Defense savings through to 2015, in order to instill a "culture of savings and restraint" in the military. Secretary Gates said that "It is important that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past, where tough economic times or the winding down of a military campaign leads to steep and unwise reductions in defense". Gates said "As a matter of principle and political reality, the Department of Defense cannot expect America's elected representatives to approve budget increases each year unless we are doing a good job, indeed everything possible, to make every dollar count". These cuts included the closing of the Joint Forces Command, the redundancy of fifty general and admirals, and the removal of 150 senior civilian positions.

NATO comments

On January 16, 2008, Gates was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying NATO forces in southern Afghanistan do not know how to properly combat a guerrilla insurgency and that could be contributing to rising violence in the country. The Netherlands and United Kingdom protested.

In a June 10, 2011, speech in Brussels, before NATO, Gates again stated that other NATO members must do more as the United States tackles its budget deficit. He said bluntly that

In the past, I've worried openly about NATO turning into a two-tiered alliance: Between members who specialize in "soft" humanitarian, development, peacekeeping and talking tasks, and those conducting the "hard" combat missions. Between those willing and able to pay the price and bear the burdens of alliance commitments, and those who enjoy the benefits of NATO membership—be they security guarantees or headquarters billets—but don't want to share the risks and the costs. This is no longer a hypothetical worry. We are there today. And it is unacceptable. The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the U.S. Congress—and in the American body politic writ large—to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense. Nations apparently willing and eager for American taxpayers to assume the growing security burden left by reductions in European defense budgets. Indeed, if current trends in the decline of European defense capabilities are not halted and reversed, future U.S. political leaders—those for whom the Cold War was not the formative experience that it was for me—may not consider the return on America's investment in NATO worth the cost.

College chancellor (2011–2025)

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks with Robert Gates and Leon Panetta, November 2013
Gates at the LBJ Library in 2016

On September 6, 2011, it was announced that Gates had accepted the position of chancellor at the College of William & Mary, succeeding Sandra Day O'Connor for a seven-year term. He took the office of the chancellor on February 3, 2012.

In September 2018, Gates was re-appointed to serve a second seven-year term as chancellor at the College of William & Mary.

Extracurricular activities

Gates is a Principal, along with Condoleezza Rice, Stephen Hadley and Anja Manuel, in RiceHadleyGates LLC, a strategic consulting firm.

Gates also serves as an honorary director on the board of directors at the Atlantic Council.

On May 2, 2012, Starbucks Corporation announced that Gates had been elected to the Starbucks board of directors. He will serve on the board's nominating and corporate governance committee.

On October 30, 2013, the Boy Scouts of America announced that Gates had been elected to the National executive board. While on this board, he will serve as the national president-elect. In May 2014, he began a two-year-long term as the BSA national president. Randall Stephenson, chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T Inc. serves under Gates as the president-elect. Gates has succeeded Wayne Perry as the national president. On May 21, 2015, Gates stated that the "status quo in movement's membership standards cannot be sustained" and that he would no longer seek to revoke the charters of scout units that accept gay adult leaders.

In the wake of the annexation of Crimea in March 2014, Gates wrote an op-ed piece on Vladimir Putin, Russian expansionism, the nascent sanctions regime, the US military budget, and the need for bold leadership.

Gates, along with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other Republican former foreign policy officials, recommended to incoming president Donald Trump that ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson be considered for the Trump administration as Secretary of State.

Gates, along with all other living former secretaries of defense, ten in total, published a Washington Post op-ed piece 3 January 2021 telling President Trump not to involve the military in determining the outcome of the 2020 elections.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gates participated as a member of the National Advisory Council for the COVID Collaborative.

Memoirs

In his memoir, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, Gates alternately criticized and praised Obama's military leadership, writing, "I never doubted support for the troops, only his support for their mission ", and "I was very proud to work for a president who had made one of the most courageous decisions I had ever witnessed in the White House" by authorizing the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Of then Vice-President Joe Biden, Gates wrote "“I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”

Criticism

Gates responds to a question during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on December 5, 2006

As deputy director and director of America's leading intelligence agency for many years, Gates and his CIA staff have been faulted for failing to accurately gauge the decline and disintegration of the Soviet Union. More particularly, Gates has been criticized for allegedly concocting evidence to show that the Soviet Union was stronger than it actually was. George Shultz said that, while Secretary of State from 1982 to 1989, he felt the CIA under Gates was trying to "manipulate" him, that the agency was "a big powerful machine not under good control. I distrust what comes out of it." Shultz personally convinced Reagan that the U.S. should soften its stance towards the USSR after Gorbachev came to power in 1985; Shultz told Gates at the time that his CIA was "usually wrong" about the Soviet Union, having dismissed Gorbachev's policies as "just another Soviet attempt to deceive us." In 1991, Stansfield Turner, former Director of Central Intelligence, described the "enormity of this failure to forecast the magnitude of the Soviet crisis. ... I never heard a suggestion from the CIA ... that numerous Soviets recognized a growing systemic economic problem." Turner said this failure was a consequence of deliberate distortion by those in the upper echelon of the CIA who were helping to sell the Reagan administration's defense buildup, a view backed by former CIA analyst Melvin Goodman at Gates's 1991 confirmation hearings: " Casey seized on every opportunity to exaggerate the Soviet threat ... Gates' role in this activity was to corrupt the process and the ethics of intelligence." Reviewing the third installment of Gates's memoirs in 2016, Goodman said, "In my 24 years at the CIA, there was never the kind of toxic atmosphere that existed when Gates served as deputy director for intelligence, deputy director of CIA, and finally director of CIA." Also, according to Newsweek, Gates, as deputy director of CIA, allegedly vouched for the comprehensiveness of a CIA study presented to the Senate and President Reagan alleging that the Soviet Union played a role in the 1981 shooting of Pope John Paul II. A CIA internal review later denounced the report as being skewed, but that Gates did not try to influence the report's conclusions.

Shortly after his retirement from his tenure as Defense Secretary in summer 2011, during a meeting of the National Security Council Principals Committee, Gates highlighted many of the measures taken by the U.S. to advance Israel's security during the Obama administration, including providing access to state of the art weaponry, assisting with the development of missile-defense systems, and sharing high-level intelligence, before expressing his view that the U.S. has received nothing in return from the Israeli government with regard to the peace process. According to senior U.S. administration sources, other officials present offered no rebuttal to Gates's analysis. This was not the first time Gates publicly expressed frustration with the Netanyahu government, with which he had worked hard to provide wide-scale and deep military cooperation. The Likud party of Israel responded to Gates's description of Benjamin Netanyahu as a danger to Israel's future by claiming that most Israelis support the prime minister.

Publications

Articles

  • The Dysfunctional Superpower, Foreign Affairs, September 29, 2023
  • The Scowcroft Model, Foreign Affairs, August 13, 2020
  • The Overmilitarization of American Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, June 2, 2020
  • Helping Others Defend Themselves, Foreign Affairs, May 1, 2010
  • A Balanced Strategy, Foreign Affairs, January 1, 2009
  • The CIA and Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, December 1, 1987

Awards and decorations

Gates's awards and decorations include:

Government awards
Other awards

Bibliography

References

Citations

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Sources

Further reading

  • Burka, Paul. "Agent of Change", Texas Monthly (November 2006)
  • Jervis, Robert. "Serving or Self-Serving? A Review Essay of Robert Gates's Memoir." Political Science Quarterly 129#2 (Summer 2014): pages 319-331.
  • Murphey, Dwight D. "A Provocative Look at Robert Gates' Memoirs of a Secretary at War " Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies 39#3 (Fall 2014): pages 342-362.

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