[wvns] The man who stands between US & new war
Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, has taken charge of the forces
in the American government opposed to a US military attack on Iran,
writes Tim Shipman.
The man who stands between US and new war
Tim Shipman
10/10/2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/07/wiran307.xml
Pentagon and State Department officials say Mr Gates has set himself
up as chief rival to Dick Cheney in a bid to thwart the vice
president's desire to bomb the Islamic state.
Defence secretary Robert Gates: a force for peace
Those familiar with internal battles in the Bush administration say Mr
Gates has eclipsed Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, as the
chief opponent of air strikes and is the main reason President George
W.Bush has yet to resort to military action.
Pentagon sources say Mr Gates is waging a subtle campaign to undermine
the Cheney camp by encouraging the army's senior officers to speak
frankly about the overstretch of forces, and the difficulty of
fighting another war.
Bruce Reidel, a former CIA Middle East officer, said: "Cheney's people
know they can beat Condi. They have been doing it for six years. Bob
Gates is a different kettle of fish. He doesn't owe the President
anything. He is urging his officers to be completely honest, knowing
what that means."
Officials say Mr Gates's strategy bore fruit when Admiral William
Fallon, the head of US Central Command, charged with devising war
plans for Iran, said last month that the "constant drumbeat of war"
was not helpful.
He was followed by General George Casey, the army's new chief of
staff, who requested an audience with the House of Representatives
armed services committee to warn that his branch of the military had
been stretched so thin by the Iraq war that it was not prepared for
yet another conflict.
Gen Casey told Congress the army was "out of balance" and added: "The
demand for our forces exceeds the sustainable supply. We are consumed
with meeting the demands of the current fight, and are unable to
provide ready forces as rapidly as necessary for other potential
contingencies."
Mr Gates has forged an alliance with Mike McConnell, the national
director of intelligence, and Michael Hayden, the head of the Central
Intelligence Agency, to ensure that Mr Cheney's office is not the
dominant conduit of information and planning on Iran to Mr Bush.
Insiders say Mr Gates has ensured that Mr Bush has seen more extensive
studies of the probable negative effects of an attack on Iran than he
was privy to before the war in Iraq.
One CIA insider said: "Bush understands that any increase in real
military hostilities in Iran right now could have a negative effect.
Bob Gates is the only one opposed to it. He's the single person in the
US government who has any standing with the White House fighting it."
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