Gates Outlines Pentagon Reform,
New Strategies
" U.S. Can Not KILL It's Way To Victory !"

(HuffPo)

In a long article in Foreign Affairs' January/February 2009 issue, Defense Secretary Robert Gates outlines his vision for the next Pentagon. Called "A Balanced Strategy: Reprogramming the Pentagon for a New Age," the piece emphasizes the need to adapt to the changing nature of war, in particular promoting diplomacy and counterinsurgency skills. He also disparages "idealistic" overeagerness to go to war. Some highlights:

What is dubbed the war on terror is, in grim reality, a prolonged, worldwide irregular campaign -- a struggle between the forces of violent extremism and those of moderation. Direct military force will continue to play a role in the long-term effort against terrorists and other extremists. But over the long term, the United States cannot kill or capture its way to victory. Where possible, what the military calls kinetic operations should be subordinated to measures aimed at promoting better governance, economic programs that spur development, and efforts to address the grievances among the discontented, from whom the terrorists recruit. It will take the patient accumulation of quiet successes over a long time to discredit and defeat extremist movements and their ideologies.

As secretary of defense, I have repeatedly made the argument in favor of institutionalizing counterinsurgency skills and the ability to conduct stability and support operations. I have done so not because I fail to appreciate the importance of maintaining the United States' current advantage in conventional war fighting but rather because conventional and strategic force modernization programs are already strongly supported in the services, in Congress, and by the defense industry. The base budget for fiscal year 2009, for example, contains more than $180 billion for procurement, research, and development, the overwhelming preponderance of which is for conventional systems.

I have learned many things in my 42 years of service in the national security arena. Two of the most important are an appreciation of limits and a sense of humility. The United States is the strongest and greatest nation on earth, but there are still limits on what it can do. The power and global reach of its military have been an indispensable contributor to world peace and must remain so. But not every outrage, every act of aggression, or every crisis can or should elicit a U.S. military response.

War is inevitably tragic, inefficient, and uncertain, and it is important to be skeptical of systems analyses, computer models, game theories, or doctrines that suggest otherwise. We should look askance at idealistic, triumphalist, or ethnocentric notions of future conflict that aspire to transcend the immutable principles and ugly realities of war, that imagine it is possible to cow, shock, or awe an enemy into submission, instead of tracking enemies down hilltop by hilltop, house by house, block by bloody block. As General William Tecumseh Sherman said, "Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster."

B4B NOTE: Seems like now that Gates is no longer silenced by the Bush Regime he is free to state that war IS NOT always the answer !

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Obama Ousting Top Bush Pentagon Officials

By Ann Scott Tyson

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Although President-elect Barack Obama's decision to keep Robert M. Gates at the helm of the Pentagon will provide a measure of continuity for a military fighting two wars, many of Gates's top deputies are expected to depart their jobs, according to senior defense and transition officials.

Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, Gates's right-hand man in running the Pentagon day to day, is widely expected to leave his post, said the officials, one of whom noted that England's speechwriter is reportedly taking another job.

Leading candidates to replace England include Obama campaign adviser Richard J. Danzig, who could eventually replace Gates; Pentagon transition review team co-leader Michèle A. Flournoy; and possibly former Pentagon comptroller William J. Lynn, said Obama transition officials and sources close to the transition.

The anticipated turnover of many key positions suggests that although Gates will help provide some continuity, the status quo will not necessarily endure at the Pentagon.

Continuity is likely to come in the form of Gates and military commanders leading the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan, while a new deputy and team of undersecretaries would manage the Pentagon and focus on longer-range issues such as "the budget, the Quadrennial Defense Review, missile defense, relations with allies and preparation for the next crisis," said Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

The four undersecretaries of defense are also expected to leave, Pentagon and transition officials said. These include Undersecretary for Policy Eric S. Edelman, who has announced that he will depart by Jan. 20, with Flournoy also a candidate to replace him. John J. Young Jr., undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, is "without question" leaving, a source close to the transition said, noting that Gates has publicly criticized the Pentagon's unwieldy acquisition process as shortchanging U.S. troops in the field.

The sensitive position of undersecretary for intelligence, created by Donald H. Rumsfeld while he was leading the Pentagon, is also likely to see a leadership change, transition sources said. "There is a real issue about how to fully recuperate" that office from the Rumsfeld era, and it would require a "team player" to promote more effective cooperation with the rest of the intelligence community, one source close to the transition said. The job is currently held by retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper Jr.

And Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness David S.C. Chu, who has served in the same job under Rumsfeld and Gates, is also seen as likely to be replaced eventually, the sources said. "At the undersecretary level, you are pretty much hitting the reset button," said a source close to the transition.

Among the services, Gates is seen as most likely to retain Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley, whom he called upon after firing top Air Force leaders in June following a series of mishaps indicating a lack of oversight of the country's nuclear arsenal. Donley was named acting secretary but was confirmed and sworn in as secretary in October.

It is possible that Gates will stick with Army Secretary Pete Geren, a former Democratic congressman from Texas with strong connections on Capitol Hill. However, Flournoy has been discussed as a replacement for that post as well.

In 2007, Flournoy co-founded the Center for a New American Security. The think tank has a $6 million budget and a bipartisan group of advisers, and it reached out early to senior military officers, said Jim Miller, CNAS director of studies. About 15 people affiliated with CNAS serve in national-security-related positions for Obama.

The Obama transition team is working to identify the next rung of Pentagon appointments, with an announcement expected before Christmas, one transition source said. There is likely to be high turnover among assistant secretaries, sources said, but one key official that Gates might consider retaining is Michael G. Vickers, assistant secretary for special operations, low-intensity conflict, and interdependent capabilities, who oversees a complex portfolio that includes some of the U.S. military's most sensitive operations.

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President Obama's Plan to Strengthen Civil Rights

"The teenagers and college students who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry and cleaning somebody else's kitchen -- they didn't brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether their vote would be counted; whether their civil rights would be protected by their government; whether justice would be equal and opportunity would be theirs.... We have more work to do."

-- Barack Obama, Speech at Howard University, September 28, 2007

The Obama-Biden Plan

Barack Obama has spent much of his career fighting to strengthen civil rights as a civil rights attorney, community organizer, Illinois State Senator and U.S. Senator. Whether promoting economic opportunity, working to improve our nation's education and health system, or protecting the right to vote, Obama has been a powerful advocate for our civil rights.

• Combat Employment Discrimination: Obama and Biden will work to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination. They will also pass the Fair Pay Act, to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
• Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: Obama and Biden will strengthen federal hate crimes legislation, expand hate crimes protection by passing the Matthew Shepard Act, and reinvigorate enforcement at the Department of Justice's Criminal Section.
• End Deceptive Voting Practices: Obama will sign into law his legislation that establishes harsh penalties for those who have engaged in voter fraud and provides voters who have been misinformed with accurate and full information so they can vote.
• End Racial Profiling: Obama and Biden will ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies and provide federal incentives to state and local police departments to prohibit the practice.
• Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Support: Obama and Biden will provide job training, substance abuse and mental health counseling to ex-offenders, so that they are successfully re-integrated into society. Obama and Biden will also create a prison-to-work incentive program to improve ex-offender employment and job retention rates.
• Eliminate Sentencing Disparities: Obama and Biden believe the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine is wrong and should be completely eliminated.
• Expand Use of Drug Courts: Obama and Biden will give first-time, non-violent offenders a chance to serve their sentence, where appropriate, in the type of drug rehabilitation programs that have proven to work better than a prison term in changing bad behavior.
  

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Obama To Name Hillary Clinton

Secretary of State on Monday

Democratic officials say President-elect Barack Obama will nominate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to be his secretary of state on Monday.

Obama plans to announce the New York senator as part of his national security team at a press conference in Chicago, the officials said Saturday. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly for the transition team.

To clear the way for his wife's nomination, former President Bill Clinton has agreed to disclose the names of every contributor to his foundation. He'll also refuse contributions from foreign governments to the Clinton Global Initiative, his annual charitable conference, and will cease holding C-G-I meetings overseas.

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OBAMA'S NEW OFFICE !

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Behind-The-Scene Photos
VICTORY NIGHT !

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