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Gates: Advise Obama "Privately" On War... Remarks Follow General's Leaked Assessment On Afghanistan

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates stressed Monday that military and civilian leaders should keep their advice to President Obama on Afghanistan private, in an apparent effort to tamp down the public divide between commanders and the White House over strategy.
"In this process, it is imperative that all of us taking part in these deliberations -- civilians and military alike -- provide our best advice to the president candidly but privately," Gates said in a speech at the annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army. LinkHere

Gates Blames Past Lack Of Troops For Taliban Edge

Source: NYT
By REUTERS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defence Secretary Robert Gates blamed the Taliban's revival on a past failure to deploy enough troops to Afghanistan and said U.S. forces would not withdraw whatever the result of President Barack Obama's strategy review.
"We are not leaving Afghanistan. This discussion is about next steps forward and the president has some momentous decisions to make," Gates said in a TV programme taped at George Washington University on Monday and being aired by CNN on Tuesday.
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Gates suggested U.S. and allied failure to put more troops into Afghanistan in the past, when then-president George W. Bush shifted resources to invade Iraq, gave the Taliban an edge.
LinkHere