Robert Gates
Defense Secretary Robert Gates addresses the crowd during a Landon Lecture at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan. Monday, Nov. 26, 2007. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Biography	Issues	Fund Raising
Rivals	Supporters	Affiliations
Photos	Videos	Forums

The Pentagon must focus on current war demands, even if it means straining the U.S. armed forces and devoting less time and money on future threats, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.

Meeting the war-fighting needs of the troops now and taking care of them properly when they get home must be the priority, Gates said in a speech to a journalists at a seminar here sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

"I have noticed too much of a tendency towards what might be called Next-War-itis the propensity of much of the defense establishment to be in favor of what might be needed in a future conflict," Gates said.

But in a world of limited resources, he said, the Pentagon must concentrate on building a military that can defeat the current enemies: smaller, terrorist groups and militias waging irregular warfare.

If it means putting off more expensive weapons for the future or adding to the stress on the Army that is a risk worth taking, he said.

"The risk of overextending the Army is real," said Gates. "But I believe the risk is far greater to that institution as well as to our country if we were to fail in Iraq. That is the war we are in. That is the war we must win."

Gates has warned before that officials must not ignore troops' immediate needs by looking too far into the future. But Tuesday he pointedly challenged theories that current wars have overstretched the military and risked its ability to fight future potential conflicts against foes such as Iran or North Korea.

In a classified Pentagon assessment provided to Congress earlier this year, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, concluded that long battlefield tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with persistent terrorist activity and other threats, have prevented the U.S. military from improving its ability to respond to any new crisis.

On Tuesday Gates acknowledged the debate and agreed the U.S. "would be hard-pressed to launch a major conventional ground operation elsewhere in the world at this time." But, he said, that scenario is not likely, and the U.S. has ample air and naval power to "defeat any repeat any adversary who committed an act of aggression whether in the Persian Gulf, on the Korean Peninsula, or in the Straits of Taiwan."

The risk, he added, is prudent and manageable.

Gates pointed to the mine-resistant, armor-protected vehicles (MRAPs) as an example of spending money now on critical lifesaving equipment, rather than pouring all resources into war-fighting systems of the future.

Roadside bombs and suicide attacks "have become the weapons of choice for America's most dangerous and likely adversaries and the need to have a vehicle of this kind won't go away," he said.

Gates said that while there have been more than 150 attacks on MRAPs so far, all but six soldiers have survived. The 6 percent casualty rate which includes dead and wounded and takes into account the attacks as well as the number of troops in the vehicle is less than a third of the 22 percent casualty rate for troops attacked in Humvees.

Similarly, he said the military needs to spend the money needed to provide adequate medical care and counseling for its troops and to house them in decent barracks.

"Getting the present right when it comes to taking care of our men and women in uniform will go a long way towards making sure we have the kind of force we need in the future," Gates said.

He also issued a warning to the military services, which have long set their sights on pricey, sophisticated weapons systems that take decades to develop and get onto the battlefield.

The Army has its $200 billion Future Combat System, the Air Force has its F-22 jet fighter. Both programs have been plagued by delays and escalating costs, as well as criticism from Congress.

Going forward, such weapons programs will have show they can be useful now against terror groups and insurgents, he said.

In a recent visit to Red River Army Depot in Texas, Gates saw some pieces of the FCS that can be sent to the war front now and he said that must continue in order for the program to continue to be viable. Gates, however, will be leaving office long before the FCS or F-22 programs are fully fielded. In his speech Monday night at the 50th anniversary of the launch of NORAD the North American Aerospace Defense Command Gates reminded the crowd that his stint as Pentagon chief will end in exactly 254 days.

On the Net:

Defense Department:

Robert Gates
Defense Secretary Robert Gates addresses the crowd during a Landon Lecture at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan. Monday, Nov. 26, 2007. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Biography	Issues	Fund Raising
Rivals	Supporters	Affiliations
Photos	Videos	Forums

The Pentagon must focus on current war demands, even if it means straining the U.S. armed forces and devoting less time and money on future threats, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.

Meeting the war-fighting needs of the troops now and taking care of them properly when they get home must be the priority, Gates said in a speech to a journalists at a seminar here sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

"I have noticed too much of a tendency towards what might be called Next-War-itis the propensity of much of the defense establishment to be in favor of what might be needed in a future conflict," Gates said.

But in a world of limited resources, he said, the Pentagon must concentrate on building a military that can defeat the current enemies: smaller, terrorist groups and militias waging irregular warfare.

If it means putting off more expensive weapons for the future or adding to the stress on the Army that is a risk worth taking, he said.

"The risk of overextending the Army is real," said Gates. "But I believe the risk is far greater to that institution as well as to our country if we were to fail in Iraq. That is the war we are in. That is the war we must win."

Gates has warned before that officials must not ignore troops' immediate needs by looking too far into the future. But Tuesday he pointedly challenged theories that current wars have overstretched the military and risked its ability to fight future potential conflicts against foes such as Iran or North Korea.

In a classified Pentagon assessment provided to Congress earlier this year, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, concluded that long battlefield tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with persistent terrorist activity and other threats, have prevented the U.S. military from improving its ability to respond to any new crisis.

On Tuesday Gates acknowledged the debate and agreed the U.S. "would be hard-pressed to launch a major conventional ground operation elsewhere in the world at this time." But, he said, that scenario is not likely, and the U.S. has ample air and naval power to "defeat any repeat any adversary who committed an act of aggression whether in the Persian Gulf, on the Korean Peninsula, or in the Straits of Taiwan."

The risk, he added, is prudent and manageable.

Gates pointed to the mine-resistant, armor-protected vehicles (MRAPs) as an example of spending money now on critical lifesaving equipment, rather than pouring all resources into war-fighting systems of the future.

Roadside bombs and suicide attacks "have become the weapons of choice for America's most dangerous and likely adversaries and the need to have a vehicle of this kind won't go away," he said.

Gates said that while there have been more than 150 attacks on MRAPs so far, all but six soldiers have survived. The 6 percent casualty rate which includes dead and wounded and takes into account the attacks as well as the number of troops in the vehicle is less than a third of the 22 percent casualty rate for troops attacked in Humvees.

Similarly, he said the military needs to spend the money needed to provide adequate medical care and counseling for its troops and to house them in decent barracks.

"Getting the present right when it comes to taking care of our men and women in uniform will go a long way towards making sure we have the kind of force we need in the future," Gates said.

He also issued a warning to the military services, which have long set their sights on pricey, sophisticated weapons systems that take decades to develop and get onto the battlefield.

The Army has its $200 billion Future Combat System, the Air Force has its F-22 jet fighter. Both programs have been plagued by delays and escalating costs, as well as criticism from Congress.

Going forward, such weapons programs will have show they can be useful now against terror groups and insurgents, he said.

In a recent visit to Red River Army Depot in Texas, Gates saw some pieces of the FCS that can be sent to the war front now and he said that must continue in order for the program to continue to be viable. Gates, however, will be leaving office long before the FCS or F-22 programs are fully fielded. In his speech Monday night at the 50th anniversary of the launch of NORAD the North American Aerospace Defense Command Gates reminded the crowd that his stint as Pentagon chief will end in exactly 254 days.

On the Net:

Defense Department: