Robert M. Gates

I have instincts.

— Robert M. Gates

I consider myself a Republican.

— Robert M. Gates

I'm a big advocate of drones.

— Robert M. Gates

“I thought you were my friend.”

— Robert M. Gates

Health care costs are eating the Defense Department alive.

— Robert M. Gates

Defense is not like other discretionary spending.

— Robert M. Gates

“others—angled for oil contracts and”

— Robert M. Gates

Development is a lot cheaper than sending soldiers.

— Robert M. Gates

“Obama answered, “Yes. I’m no peacenik.”

— Robert M. Gates

I have always voted for who I believed was the best person.

— Robert M. Gates

Things have gotten so nasty in Washington.

— Robert M. Gates

There will be boots on the ground if there's to be any hope of success in the strategy.

— Robert M. Gates

The United States has been a global power since late in the 19th century.

— Robert M. Gates

“I was offended by his suspicion that any of us would ever write about such sensitive matters.”

— Robert M. Gates

“After all, one wouldn’t want facts and reality—not to mention the national interest—to intrude upon partisan politics, would one?”

— Robert M. Gates

One of the toughest battles in intelligence is combating conventional wisdom.

— Robert M. Gates

Most governments lie to each other. That's the way business gets done.

— Robert M. Gates

“We’ve got to get rid of the mentality that if there are no holes in you, then you’re ready for duty.”

— Robert M. Gates

A wild and crazy weekend involves sitting on the front porch, smoking a cigar, reading a book.

— Robert M. Gates

“grew increasingly impatient and angry as I compared their selflessness and sacrifice with the self-promotion and selfishness of power-hungry politicians and others—in…

— Robert M. Gates

“for all the technology, there was common agreement that one sensor worked better at detecting IEDs than anything else: a dog’s nose.…

— Robert M. Gates

“The fact that our team had penetrated 150 miles into Pakistan, carried out the raid in the middle of a military garrison…

— Robert M. Gates

I think Donald Trump has gotten China's attention to a degree that his predecessors have not that this is a very serious…

— Robert M. Gates

There's a lot of books out there about how you lead change in business, but I've certainly not seen any... on how…

— Robert M. Gates

If Iraq and Afghanistan have taught us anything in recent history, it is the unpredictability of war and that these things are…

— Robert M. Gates

“Quickly filling those information gaps and protecting the country from another attack became the sole preoccupation of the president and his senior…

— Robert M. Gates

When I was the director of Central Intelligence in the early '90s, I tried to get the Air Force to partner with…

— Robert M. Gates

I think that Vladimir Putin is certainly getting a lot of publicity for what the Russians are doing. And I'm not sure…

— Robert M. Gates

I think in the policies that have been followed since the president Donald Trump came into office, there really hasn't been any…

— Robert M. Gates

power... Military success is not sufficient to win: economic development, institution-building and the rule of law, promoting internal reconciliation, good governance, providing…

— Robert M. Gates

If possible, to be in a position to announce who is going to step in as the interim immediately. And if possible,…

— Robert M. Gates

It has become clear that America's civilian institutions of diplomacy and development have been chronically undermanned and underfunded for far too long…

— Robert M. Gates

“Joe is a man of integrity, incapable of hiding what he really thinks, and one of those rare people you know you…

— Robert M. Gates

I think in the context of senior government positions, I think an anecdote of what I told President-Elect Barack Obama when we…

— Robert M. Gates

I don't know General Michael Flynn well, but it's hard for me to believe anybody would allow themselves to be blackmailed by…

— Robert M. Gates

I will always be an advocate in terms of wars of necessity. I am just much more cautious on wars of choice.

— Robert M. Gates

If there's ever an example that military power alone cannot be successful in Afghanistan, I think it was the Soviet experience.

— Robert M. Gates

Congress is best viewed from a distance—the farther the better—because up close, it is truly ugly,

— Robert M. Gates

“martinis, steak, and red wine, a proven formula for deep thinking,”

— Robert M. Gates

Well, I've ruffled a few feathers at all the institutions I've led. But I think that's part of leadership.

— Robert M. Gates