Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Robert Gates and How He Operated.

One of the most profound statements made by Gates in his book was to say words to the effect, “Never pass up an opportunity to keep your mouth shut.” Throughout his tenure as Secretary he was a master of keeping silent in testimony before congressional committees, allowing them to vent before the cameras for the benefit of their constituencies, and timing his remarks for those moments when they would have the greatest effect.

As time went on he found this increasingly difficult to do. The hypocrisy of Congress, the pettiness of the Cabinets and the weight of the defense bureaucracy really started to wear him down. He bit his tongue so often it’s a wonder he didn’t bite it off. As carryovers from the Bush administration he and Admiral Mullins often had to sit and listen to the Obama team rant about how screwed up the Bush policies had been. This required taking a deep breath especially when the new administration was not long on better ideas and in fact continued many of the “Failed Policies” they were so quick to disparage.

The fact that he was asked to continue as Secretary of Defense reflects the strength of his reputation on both sides of the isle. Regardless of the infighting he was held in high esteem throughout his watch as SECDEF.

One interesting aspect of the book was the way he showed his slow evolving relationship with Vice President Joe Biden. He began by saying that Biden was wrong on virtually every policy position the VP took. Then he said that Biden had an irreverence and blunt way of expressing himself that he couldn’t help but like. As the book continued he showed how one commander allowed his staff to get out of control saying things to the press that were disparaging of the VP. Towards the end, when Gates does some soul searching, one of the things he admits is that if he had it to do over he would have looked for some more common ground with Joe. Finally there comes an exchange on the drawdown from Afghanistan where Biden leans over and whispers, “Isn’t this what I’ve been advocating all along?” As the collective impact of all these comments sunk in I was reminded of my earlier blog that emphasized “Not dismissing the ideas of those you find abrasive just because they’re annoying.” I got the distinct impression that Gates started out marginalizing the VP when with a little effort he might have turned him into a valuable ally. As it was the two worked at cross-purposes for the early years of the Obama administration. There’s a lesson here and I won’t offend my readers by saying more.