U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates responds to a question from the news media during a Pentagon press conference in Washington. Shawn Thew / EPAFrom The L.A. Times:
The Defense secretary says the new U.S.-Iraq security agreement changes the conversation from debating a timeline for withdrawal to figuring out how to reduce troops responsibly.
Reporting from Washington -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he accepted President-elect Barack Obama's approach to scheduled troop reductions in Iraq, arguing Tuesday that the hotly debated subject of timelines for withdrawal largely had been settled by a new U.S.-Iraq security agreement.
"That bridge has been crossed," Gates said a day after he formally agreed to remain as Obama's Defense secretary. "And so the question is: How do we do this in a responsible way?"
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My Comment: Of course Sec. Def. Gates is on board. Barack Obama will soon be the President .... and we all serve at the pleasure of the President.