Clo,
We have found most of Gates comments disappointing, especially in view of the fact that president Obama kept him on as secretary of defense after his election. Something he didn't really have to do. It would appear that Gates has juiced up his book to sell copy during a time when print book sales are struggling.
The part about the Obama administration being the most controlling since the Nixon WWhite house is questionable since Gates did not have much contact with the White House before 1974, the last year of the Nixon presidency.
We need to remember that Gates was and is a Republican who served in a Democrat administration and it would appear that he is trying to influence the coming election cycles with his tell all. It has always been our impression that Obama gave Hillary Clinton a great deal of latitude in her position as Secretary of State. As far as being deeply controlling on national security issues, where else would a president need to be more involved? As far as Gates comments about Obama losing faith in the mission in Afghanistan, Hell, we have all pretty much reached that conclusion over a similar period of time. After all, Afghanistan has been the longest American war and president Obama did jack up American involvement there after his election so he at least gave the mission a chance to succeed.
Regards,
Joe
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