Future U.S. political leaders, those for whom the Cold War was not the formative experience that it was for me, may not… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share Image
“Presidents and Congress expect senior military leaders to provide their personal and professional military opinions candidly and honestly. There is no requirement… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share Image
Even when I was at CIA, I'd go to visit foreign leaders and I'd say, 'You know, I'm not a diplomat. I'm… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share Image
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 Copy Share Image
“The worst of these comments came in mid-April from the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, who said in a press conference, “This… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share Image
There is no international problem that can be addressed or solved without the engagement and leadership of the United States and everybody… — Robert M. Gates Copy Share Image
I've seen, all too often in my career, people coming in to lead agencies and organizations and trying to impose change from… — 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 Image
“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 Image
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 Image
“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 Image
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 Image
“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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
I had no difficulty as Secretary of Defense moving from the Bush administration to the Obama administration. — Robert M. Gates Copy Share Image
The United States has been a global power since late in the 19th century. — Robert M. Gates Copy Share Image
