Word: pentagonals
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...include no fighting - shocked Gates during his visit a year and a half ago. "He heard that we had a soldier who was shot and was in Spain's AOR [area of responsibility]. The Spanish troops had to call back to Madrid to seek permission to medevac him," a Pentagon aide told me. "The soldier lived. But Gates was furious." He also heard that while wounded soldiers in Iraq were guaranteed a medevac within the "golden hour," in Afghanistan they could wait as long as 1 hr. 41 min. Gates saw that there were Air Force helicopters sitting...
...house fell apart in laughter. His audience captivated, Gates ended the speech with the story of Major Douglas Zembiec, who'd been dubbed the Lion of Fallujah by his soldiers. After a stint at the Pentagon, Zembiec went back to Iraq, where he was killed in action. Gates stumbled on his words as he went on and could barely finish. He'd been Secretary of Defense for just seven months. They were the bloodiest months of the war. Maybe these soldiers were dying for naught. By the time he uttered the words that Zembiec had fallen, everyone, including Gates...
...late 2008, with the Iraq war and Bush presidency winding down, Gates made plans to leave the Pentagon. Just before the presidential election, Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed contacted Gates. Would he be interested in staying on? Would he meet with Obama about it? Gates prepared some questions. He wanted Obama to know where he was coming from. Obama read them over and told Reed, "They're right on target. I'm impressed, and it'd be useful to have a conversation with...
Gates and Clinton have forged a formidable partnership. "They were both clearly very hardworking students in school," says a Pentagon aide. They speak frequently on their secure phones, comparing notes before they go to the White House. They meet once a week and have lunch at either the Pentagon or State every month. ("The notion of Condi and Rumsfeld having lunch together? Or Rumsfeld and Powell?" says a Clinton staffer.) Not long after the war-council meetings drew to a close and Obama gave his West Point speech, I asked Clinton about Gates' methods. "He listens more than he talks...
...credit, Gates is mindful that the U.S.'s diplomatic assets pale in comparison to its military power. The Pentagon budget is still $660 billion, compared with State's $51 billion. To audiences, Gates often bemoans the fact that the State Department's foreign-service officers would barely crew one aircraft carrier. "We joke that Gates is the best surrogate for the State Department. He always makes the point that we are underfunded and underresourced," says a Clinton staffer. At the same time, the Pentagon has assumed more of the burdens of diplomacy and statecraft. The building contains its own mini...