Robert Gates

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  US Rebel Training Program 'Nuts,' Ex-Pentagon Chief Says

  A doomed US plan now on hold to train Syrian rebel fighters outside the country to fight the Islamic State was "nuts," former defense secretary Robert Gates said.

• Would Have Allowed Gay Adults in Scout: Robert Gates

  Robert Gates, the new president of the Boy Scouts of America, said he would have moved last year to allow openly gay adults in the organization but said he opposes any further attempts to address the policy now.

• Former US Defense Secretary Robert Gates criticizes president in memoir

  U.S. President Barack Obama lacked belief in his administration's policy toward the war in Afghanistan and was skeptical it would even succeed, his former defense secretary, Robert Gates, writes in a memoir to be published next week.

• Robert Gates warns NATO of 'dim' future

  Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates bluntly criticized NATO nations on Friday for what he said were shortages in military spending and political will, warning of "a dim if not dismal future" unless more member nations scaled up their participation in the alliance's activities. NATO has struggled for a generation to define its place in a post-cold war...

• When will women be US Navy SEALS?

  It's a dramatic tale.Elite Navy SEALs storm a walled compound in Pakistan and take out the world's most wanted terrorist.Footnote: They were all men.While America's last 10 years of war have propelled women into new and far more risky roles across the military, there are still some doors that are closed. Chief among those are the special operations...

• 'Somebody' in Pakistan knew about Osama's presence: Gates

  US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said  that "somebody" in Pakistan knew about slain Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's hideout in that country but there is no "evidence" that the top leadership was aware of it.Gates would not say who knew about the presence of bin Laden in Abbottabad deep inside Pakistan but suggested it could have been re...

• Panetta and Petraeus in line for top security posts

  President Obama is expected this week to name Leon E. Panetta, the director of central intelligence, as defense secretary and Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Afghanistan, as director of the C.I.A., administration officials said Wednesday. The appointments, set in motion by the impending retirement of Defense Secretary Robert M...

• Tripoli is hit but Gaddafi isn't target, claims US

  American and European militaries intensified their barrage of Col. Muammar el-Gaddafi's forces by air and sea on Sunday, as the mission moved beyond taking away his ability to use Libyan airspace, to obliterating his hold on the ground as well, allied officials said. On Monday, European nations went out of their way to rebut Libyan claims that civi...

• US Defence Chief rejects targeting Gaddafi

  US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said it would be "unwise" to have coalition forces try to kill Muammar Gaddafi in military strikes in Libya.Asked about remarks by British counterpart Liam Fox suggesting targeting Kadhafi himself, Gates said the allied operation should stick to the parameters as authorized by the UN Security Council."I think that ...

• US critical of China test of fighter jet

  US Defense Secretary Robert Gates today said that China's revelation during his visit this week of a combat jet's flight test pointed to "a disconnect" between its military and civilian leaders.Gates was speaking in Japan during a week-long Asia tour focused on the threat posed by nuclear-armed North Korea and the increasing military assertiveness ...

• Gates to seek more Chinese openness on defence issues

  US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is set to visit China to resume bilateral military dialogue, which was stalled last year after the US $6.4 billion American arms sale to Taiwan and the Dalai Lama's White House tour, and is expected to ask Beijing to be more open on defence-related issues.Gates' three-day Beijing trip from Sunday comes a week befor...

• US praises Karzai response to WikiLeaks

  US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has complimented Afghan President Hamid Karzai for taking the high road after being criticised in the deluge of sensitive State Department documents released by WikiLeaks.Gates says he is grateful for Karzai's muted response and similar reactions from other world leaders.While Gates has said the leak of more than a...

• US worried by harsh tone of China's military

  Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met his Chinese counterpart, Liang Guanglie, in Vietnam on Monday for the first time since the two militaries suspended talks with each other last winter, calling for the two countries to prevent "mistrust, miscalculations and mistakes." His message seemed directed mainly at officers like Lt. Cmdr. Tony Cao of the ...

• US wants to strengthen military ties with India

  Ahead of his meeting with Indian counterpart A K Antony, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said the Pentagon wants to strengthen and expand its military to military ties with India.

• Pentagon belt-tightening will cut jobs

  US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Monday that tough economic times require that he shutter a major command that employs some 5,000 people around Norfolk, Va., and begin to eliminate other jobs throughout the military. The announcement was the first major step by Gates to find $100 billion in savings in the next five years. Gates says t...