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Gates doesn’t know what he is talking about either. He’s full of it! Keep in mind that the reason President Obama selected him as Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) was precisely because he is a tame Republican who would not rock the Administration’s boat and could be counted on to criticize his own Party much more than he would ever criticize the Democrats. Contrary to the American way of war? The “American” way of war used to be to win! The most humane way to fight a war is always to win it as quickly as possible. End the bloodshed and end the enemy’s murders and oppression, sooner rather than later. But for some reason our current leaders think it is better to drag out conflicts forever. To spend blood and treasure for little to no gain. For example Afghanistan today is much the same as it was when we first sent troops there 15 years ago! Our political leadership has lost the will to win a war. They are too squeamish and afraid to do what is necessary to win. With such a defeatist attitude guiding our actions it is folly for our nation to engage in ANY war. Certainly we should NOT start any new wars so long as President Obama is the Commander-in-Chief. So stay out of Syria! Obama has seen to it that it’s already lost. For that matter in any future war we should move the President and his entire cabinet to a tent in the desert and make them stay there for the duration of the war. What do you think that they’d figure out a way to win as quickly as possible?
“Carpet bombing would be completely useless. It’s totally contrary to the American way of war."
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday blasted the Republican field for their rhetoric on destroying the Islamic State.
“First of all they, they don’t know what they’re talking about,” Gates told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
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Front-runner Donald Trump has said as president he would “bomb the s---” out of the Islamic State, while rival Ted Cruz has suggested carpet bombing them into oblivion.
“Carpet bombing would be completely useless. It’s totally contrary to the American way of war,” said Gates, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush and also served under President Barack Obama. “Total disregard for civilians. So, I mean, part of the concern that I have with the campaign, particularly when it comes to national security, is that the solutions being offered are so simplistic and so at odds with the reality of the rest of the world, with the way the world really works.”
Alluding to political outsiders Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Gates challenged their ability to be an effective president. “I will tell you this: I do think that politics is a profession,” he said. “And I think that if you don’t have any experience in how government works, if you have never been in government, your ability to make the government work is going to be significantly reduced."
“It’s different than business,” he continued. “It’s different than surgery. It’s different than anything else. It’s a skill set that you bring based on experience and based on dealing with other people.”
In December, Gates, who is promoting a new book on leadership, wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post outlining his take on "the kind of president we need."
Asked on "Morning Joe" whether any candidate had met his criteria, Gates said, "I don’t see any.”
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