Robert Gates

Name: Robert Gates

Title: Secretary of Defense

Official Department: United State Department of Defense

Who I am

I am the face of the Department of Defense. I develop policies related to National Defense and am the primary defense adviser to the President.

My Role

As head of the department of defense, my primary role is to ensure that the United States has a standing military composed of an army, navy, and air force in order to provide military service to fight wars, and protect the United States.

Quote

"We will be making a terrible mistake if this ends up being called America’s war ... This needs to be an Afghan war and not an American war and not a NATO war"

- Robert Gates

Significance

This quote was Robert Gates' reaction to the possibility of naming the American, Afghanistan conflict the 'American War'. In response, this quote reveals that the conflict was initiated as a response to a threat in Nation Security and therefore armed forces were sent overseas to protect the integrity of safety American citizens have come to expect. It also shows that, because the war primarily pertains to constricting the terrorism in Afghanistan, armed forces were sent only to assist in Afghanistan's attempt to accomplish these goals. Thus, the problem existed more prominently in Afganistan than America, and was being fought on Afghan soil, rightfully deeming it an "Afghan War."

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50bc7cY-_2c

This video shows an example of Robert Gates' optimism toward developing a relationship with Pakistan to destroy the Taliban. He believes that this will result in protecting the National Security of Pakistan, in addition to limiting the terrorist threat the United States feels.