We jest. Today, Starbucks announced that Gates joined the company’s board, and will serve on its nominating and corporate governance committee. Gates was appointed Secretary of Defense by George W. Bush in 2006, and retired in 2011 after just under three years with the Obama Administration. Prior to joining the Starbucks board, Gates was acting as chancellor for the College of William & Mary, his alma mater. (SFB illustration) source
Today is Robert Gates’ last day at the Pentagon. *sniff*: We’re sitting in this coffee shop, blaring Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye To Yesterday” from our tinny MacBook speakers. And crying. We’re getting weird looks, but WE DON’T CARE! source
The long Karzai goodbye: Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that despite previous suggestions he might try to change the Afghan constitution to let him serve a third term, Hamid Karzai is now telling people privately he’ll leave power in 2014. What the nature of America’s presence in Afghanistan would be without Karzai is hard to say; whatever comes of the fight against the Taliban, the government he’s been running is thoroughly corrupt, if much less brutal than the alternative. Neither has his alliance with the U.S. seemed in good faith at times — remember when he threatened to join the Taliban, or admitted his administration was taking literal bags full of cash from Iran? Here’s hoping a different leader can stem the tide of corruption. source
And you probably will, based on the treatment of the situation room photo. (via ProducerMatthew)
We have been careful about this. It’s almost as though some people here are taking at face value Gaddafi’s claims about the number of civilian casualties, which, as far as I’m concerned, are just outright lies.Defense Secretary Robert Gates • Complaining loudly about reports of civilian casualties caused by Operation Odyssey Dawn. Gates denies the claims. “It’s perfectly evident that the vast majority — if not nearly all civilian casualties —have been inflicted by Gaddafi,” he says. Now, this isn’t to say that he’s wrong … but we have to imagine it’s kind of hard to be careful with anything like a Tomahawk missile. It’s a rough road. source (via • follow)
Frankly, the prospects for closing Guantanamo, the best I can tell, are very, very low.Secretary of Defense Robert Gates • At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. The problem, Gates says, is that just about nobody in Congress actually wants to close the controversial detainment facility, and Congressional approval would be required to shut it down. source (via • follow)
My greatest worry will be that we are at the mercy of the courts and all of the lack of predictability that that entails.Defense Secretary Robert Gates • Emphasizing that it’s better for Congress to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” and allow an orderly end to the policy than for the court system to simply force an end to the policy. Yesterday’s vote which failed 57-40, fell apart without any GOP support; Gates was “disappointed in the Senate vote, but not surprised.” Along with just about everyone else looking for a repeal, buddy. source (via • follow)
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