“had never heard a president explicitly frame a decision as a direct order. With the American military, it is completely unnecessary. As secretary of defense, I had never issued an “order” to get something done; nor had I heard any… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share Image
“The day before I stepped down as secretary, I sent a message to every man and woman wearing the American military uniform because I knew I could not speak to or about them at my farewell ceremony without breaking down.… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share Image
And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades. — Robert M. Gates Copy Share
“I was seething. I told him that “the clock is ticking” and that our patience with their lack of political progress was running out.… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share
Some people have said, in so many words, that I'm kind of wooly-headed in believing that the Iranians would see not having nuclear weapons… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share
“Obama was the fourth president I had worked for who said outright that he wanted to eliminate all nuclear weapons (Carter, Reagan, and Bush… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share
I had no concerns - I had no reason to have concerns based on what was available to me about North's contacts with the… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share
“The passage of fourteen years had led to another significant change in the international environment. As I told Bush 43 and Condi Rice on… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share
I've been very sensitive for a long time to the repeated pattern, during economic hard times or after a war, of the United States'… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share
I don't know General Michael Flynn well, but it's hard for me to believe anybody would allow themselves to be blackmailed by the Russians… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share
I had no difficulty as Secretary of Defense moving from the Bush administration to the Obama administration. — Robert M. Gates Copy Share
The United States has been a global power since late in the 19th century. — Robert M. Gates Copy Share
My one concern is that Hu Jintao may overestimate how much power China has in Pyongyang. They have - they do have influence, and… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share
“Soon after the raid was over, the White House released the now-famous photo of all of us watching the video in that small conference… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share
