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Analysis: Robert Gates and a 'Fresh Perspective'

Council on Foreign Relations

November 9, 2006
Prepared by: Robert McMahon

The announcement of Robert M. Gates to replace Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary has brought a great gust of anticipation in Washington about a new approach on Iraq. President Bush said after announcing Gates’ nomination that a “fresh perspective” on Iraq was important, and his choice was immediately lauded by a number of erstwhile administration critics. Newsweek’s Howard Fineman said the arrival of Gates, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the administration of Bush’s father, coupled with the role of former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III in the Iraq Study Group “means the pragmatists have won the battle for the president’s attention.” Slate analyst Fred Kaplan sharply contrasted Gates with Rumsfeld, calling him an “utterly uncontroversial figure to calm nerves, settle bureaucratic hostilities, and reestablish credibility on Capitol Hill.”

But others cautioned against expecting too much in the change of congressional power and one cabinet post. CFR Senior Fellow Charles A. Kupchan and University of Texas professor Peter L. Trubowitz stress that Bush still holds the foreign policy reins and “there will be more continuity than change (LAT); the ideological excesses of the Bush era are not yet behind us.” As for Gates himself, some reports recalled his tough Senate confirmation hearing for the CIA post in 1991. He was grilled about his knowledge of the Iran-Contra Affair, in which some Reagan administration officials arranged for the sale of weapons to Iran and sent the funds to Nicaraguan rebels. Gary G. Sick, a former National Security Council expert on Iran who applauds Gates’ choice to lead the Pentagon, says Gates was aware of the arms deals to Iran aimed at helping the Contras.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.