Promoting his new book “Passion for Leadership,” 72-year-old former George W. Bush and President Barack Obama Defense Secretary Robert Gates ripped GOP presidential candidate real estate mogul Donald Trump. “In all honesty, that’s difficult for me,” Gates said, referring to a question whether he could see Trump as president. Succeeding former Secretary of Defense Donald M. Rumsfeld Dec.18, 2006, Gates never questioned the dubious nature of the Iraq War, especially a recent report by Politico that Rumsfeld possessed a Pentagon Joint Chiefs of Staff intelligence memo in 2002 saying that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein connection to al-Qaeda and possession of weapons of mass destruction were “known, unknowns.” Rumsfeld wrote Air Force Gen. Richard Meyers, “Please look at this as to what we don’t know about WMD.” Top Bush-43 officials hyped the al-Qaeda and WMD connection before the March 20, 2003 war.
Rumsfeld sensed at the time that the memo undermined the White House case for the Iraq War. “We’ve struggled to estimate the unknown . . . we range from 0% to 75% knowledge on various aspects of the program,” read Rumsfeld’s memo. Now Gates denounces GOP and Democratic presidential candidates, especially Trump who’s on record of opposing the Iraq War and CIA-backed Libyan coup that toppled Libyan strongman, Col. Muammar Gaddafi.Aug. 23, 2011. Gates reserves admiration for his former boss, President George W. Bush, directing his criticism to the new crop of candidates vying for the White House. “People are making a lot of grandiose promises and pledges to do one thing or another, either on domestic affairs or on foreign policy,” said Gates. Gates was particularly critical of Trump for insisting he’d make Mexico pay for a new border fence.
Gates criticized Trump for threatening to “bomb the s— out of ISIS or, for that matter, keeping Muslims from entering the U.S. “How he intends to deal with issues is pretty unrealistic,” Gates told CNBC’s “Morning Joe,” hosted by former GOP Congressman Joe Scarborough. “Some of the rhetoric in terms of how they would deal with problems is frankly totally unrealistic, in terms of making other countries do one thing or another and so on,” Gates told Business Insider. Gates reserves his harshest criticism for GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) promising to “carpet bomb” ISIS into oblivion. Gates insists that “carpet bombing” is inconsistent with U.S. rules of war. Gates offered no criticism for Bush-43 starting a $2 trillion war without any real justification. Bush-43’s concocted intel on Saddam’s WMD raised no red flags for Gates, only “unrealistic” ways for dealing with ISIS.
Gates knows that anything goes in presidential campaigns, pandering to specific constituencies. When he wrote his memoir “Passion for Leadership,” he had no restriction on getting the story right presiding during the Bush-43 years as defense secretary. One of the big controversies between the GOP and Democrats has been verifiable fallout from the Iraq War. Not once has Gates said to the press or in his book that the Iraq War created the power vacuum that flooded Iraq with terrorists, giving rise to ISIS. Focusing on campaign rhetoric, it’s easy for Gates to avoid the tough questions while he served as defense secretary from Dec. 12, 2006 to July 1, 2011, the same year President Barack Obama ended the Iraq War. What Gates doesn’t say in “Passion for Leadership” is how the Bush-43 administration misled the country into a disastrous Mideat war.
Speaking about his “Passion for Leadership,” Gates should have cited former Nebraska senator and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel who sacrifice his GOP career telling the truth about the Iraq War. Gates offers no insights how, only recently, into his role model, Rumsfeld, deceived everyone with his “known, unknowns” about Saddam’s WMD and al-Qaeda’s presence in Iraq. Instead of diverting attention to campaign rhetoric, Gates should honestly review his tenure as defense secretary. Watching Iraq, under his watch, descend into anarchy cemented his legacy as a failed defense secretary. Gates called former GOP candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R.S.C.) call to send 10,000 combat troops into Iraq and Syria to deal with ISIS “unrealistic,” acting like it’s too late for the U.S. to make a difference. Gates backs Obama’s plan to use Special Operation to back up Iraqi and Kurdish troops.
Gates finds it easier to point fingers at presidential candidates than own his own mistakes and those of his predecessor for causing today’s chaos in Iraq and Syria. Whether or not he agrees or disagrees with how to deal with ISIS, Gates doesn’t honestly appraise the Bush-43 White House for dragging the country into a costly war without any real justification. Refusing to take a hard look at how the U.S. got into its current mess, Gates prefers small-talk, promoting his book, “Passion for Leadership.” Taking responsibility for his own mistakes isn’t apparently part of Gates’s “passion.” “But I think what most candidates don’t want to tell the American people is the reality is this is a problem that is going to take some time to resolve,” said Gates. With an attitude like that, it’s no wonder that nothing gets done. Whoever makes it to the White House in 2016 will have to do better.
