Robert Gates, Rumsfeld's replacement

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What the hey, a new thread.

Some of the dirt and initial Congressional reactions.

Dowd on the already entrenched '41 saves 43' meme.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 9 November 2006 16:23 (nineteen years ago)

What are your thoughts about this guy? Any comments? Or is this just going to be another thread full of blue hyperlinks?

I read the first part of Gates' memoir about serving in CIA. One of the things I learned is that agents refer to their employer as CIA and not THE CIA. He's definitely of the Scowcroft crew, but then again, so was Condi.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Thursday, 9 November 2006 18:35 (nineteen years ago)

daniel ortega is the president-elect of nicaragua, is what i think.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 9 November 2006 18:37 (nineteen years ago)

As I said on one of the recent threads, chaning a Defense Secretary won't change the outcome: we're losing. The war is beyond victory. Hiring a student of realpolitik and Kissinger/Scowcroft crony who is in part to blame for the inscrutable relations between Tehran and Baghdad is not a way to Move Forward.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 9 November 2006 18:38 (nineteen years ago)

No, but it's amusing cover, in a blackly humorous way.

Pleasant -- my own thoughts about the guy aren't much because I honestly am just learning about him more now. That said I think in broad terms this is clearly somebody being employed as a fixer.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 9 November 2006 19:29 (nineteen years ago)

it's worth having someone competent to handle the cutting and running - i have no idea if he's that guy, but rummy certainly wasn't.

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Thursday, 9 November 2006 19:33 (nineteen years ago)

Whatever the case may be, this guy will have to be twice as inscrutable as Rumsfeld now that the American voters have given the terrorists a major victory.

― Fleischhutliebe! like a warm, furry meatloaf (Fluffy Bear Hearts Rainbows), Thursday, 9 November 2006 19:34 (nineteen years ago)

Apparently he, or the state department is going to open dialogue with Iran and Syria. I wonder if any contra era chums are still around?

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 9 November 2006 19:35 (nineteen years ago)

I love how this massive prospective change in policy gets reported in the UK before its reported in the US.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 9 November 2006 19:37 (nineteen years ago)

hired no doubt because he remembers the secret to dealing w/these people: ~~strength, it's all they understand~~ give them guns and they'll sort of leave you alone!

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Thursday, 9 November 2006 19:39 (nineteen years ago)

I wonder if any contra era chums are still around?

on which side? i'm sure koshoggi (sp?) knows 'em.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 9 November 2006 19:43 (nineteen years ago)

Remember the aborted domestic eavesdropping program that Admiral Poindexter was supposed to spearhead?

Where are Elliot Abrams and Bud McFarlane these days?

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 9 November 2006 19:47 (nineteen years ago)

Is McFarlane even still alive?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 9 November 2006 19:47 (nineteen years ago)

mcfarlane's dead, i'm pretty sure.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 9 November 2006 19:58 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.humanproductivitylab.com/images/Total%20Information%20Awareness%20Logo%20Big.png

xxp

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Thursday, 9 November 2006 20:04 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.thememoryhole.org/policestate/tia/TIA_ppt2.jpg

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Thursday, 9 November 2006 20:05 (nineteen years ago)

it's funny how these evil fuckers seem reasonable compared bush's crowd.

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Thursday, 9 November 2006 20:05 (nineteen years ago)

(to)

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Thursday, 9 November 2006 20:06 (nineteen years ago)

McFarlane yet lives.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 9 November 2006 20:06 (nineteen years ago)

so y'all see what the wsj has to say? gates will re-align from the shiites to the sunnis. amazing.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 9 November 2006 20:58 (nineteen years ago)

say what? (we don't get the WSJ at work anymore)

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 9 November 2006 21:04 (nineteen years ago)

Barring some leftfield revelation, if Gates was confirmed in '91 when his dubiousness was fresher, he's a shoo-in. I assume Moviestar Obama thinks he's as voteworthy as Condi was for Secretary of State.

Apaprently there have been only NINE outright rejections of Cabinet nominees in history? (withdrawals in the face of defeat don't count obv)

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 9 November 2006 21:16 (nineteen years ago)

hey tombot, do any of the guys you work with know about this guy? what was the general mood & rxn to Rummy getting booted?

― kingfish prætor (kingfish 2.0), Thursday, 9 November 2006 21:46 (nineteen years ago)

ten years pass...

Reading his SOD memoir now. Pretty dry, not exactly great writing -- but TONS of detail in there for anyone interested in anything going on behind the scenes during his tenure.

― Dominique, Monday, 16 January 2017 15:25 (nine years ago)

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