England for Obama

It’s been confirmed that Robert Gates is to continue as America’s Defence Secretary under Barack Obama.

This isn’t as bad as it sounds – we’re not talking Donald Rumsfeld here. Indeed, Gates criticised Rumsfeld’s “shock and awe” tactics, and has been acclaimed by both Republicans and Democrats for his steady approach to the war in Iraq.

From HuffPo:

‘Robert Gates was recently praised by US News And World Report as one of America’s best leaders. The article praised Gates’ recognition of the “soft power” of America’s military.

In the speech, Gates told officers that in 42 years of service, he had learned two big things: a sense of humility and an appreciation of limits. “Not every outrage, every act of aggression, every crisis can or should elicit an American military response,” he said, advising them to “be modest about what military force can accomplish and what technology can accomplish.”

High-tech “transformation” was a Rumsfeld hallmark. Gates’s goal is “exactly the opposite,” says Stephen Biddle, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Less capital intensive, more labor intensive, with an emphasis on patience and lots and lots of close contact with civilians.” It is a remarkable repudiation of Rumsfeld’s rather disdainful “We don’t do nation-building” remark as Iraq was falling apart after the 2003 U.S. invasion.’

Some on the left are already complaining, of course, that this pick isn’t the ‘change’ they voted for. But as America finds itself in economic dire straits, and fighting wars on two fronts, it makes sense to me to a) not change horses in mid-stream, if you believe the current horse is doing a pretty good job (for some reason, I’m now thinking of Mr Ed); and to b) keep a steady, experienced hand at the military helm for a while, while you concentrate on fixing the aforementioned economy.

It also strikes me that those complaining should read The Audacity Of Hope. Barack Obama has always been about change – but he’s also always been about pragmatism, and working across party lines to get whatever job needs to be done, done.

*Update* Here was the story being covered on Countdown last night:

Tags: barack obama administration, countdown, defence secretary, keith olbermann, obama administration, robert gates

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 at 10:08 am and is filed under New administration, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.