Robert Gates’ Legacy

With a ceremony at the Pentagon where Obama awarded him a Presidential Medal of Freedom, Robert Gates ended his time as secretary of Defense. And he did so in front of the praise of the majority of the U.S. media. Some went so far as to call him the best secretary of Defense in the history of the United States.

That last affirmation may be a bit exaggerated. However, the admiration that Gates awakens is perfectly comprehensible. In an age of great political polarization, where statesmen are known for their absence and the main focus of most politicians is their reelection, Gates is an example of unselfish public service. In the last decades he is the only secretary that has served under two presidents of different parties.

In the fall of 2006 George Bush appealed to Gates, an officer in the U.S. Air Force and a retired director of the CIA, to help solve the nightmare that the Iraq War had become. For his sobriety and pragmatism, some have compared him to Harvey Keitel’s likable “Pulp Fiction” character, the Wolf, whose main function was to clean up messes.

At the start, his appointment caused surprise since Gates had publicly declared himself against the war in Iraq. His ideology and attitude were completely contrary to those of his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld. Precisely for that, Bush chose him.

After receiving the charge of ending the war in Iraq in the most dignified form possible, Gates ordered a military escalation that seemed contrary to his plans. Many accused him of maintaining a servile attitude toward Bush and putting his ambitions in front of his own integrity. Nonetheless, time proved him right, and within two years he had already gained public recognition.

Later in his role as secretary, he won unanimous praise for his efficiency in managing the enormous bureaucracy of the Pentagon. Gates never shied away from disciplining those high in command, whether it was for negligence of the sanitary conditions of the soldiers or the control of nuclear warheads. Nor did he shy away from immediately ordering 27,000 armored tanks to enter Iraq, a move that saved hundreds of lives from explosions.

It was for his efficiency that Obama proposed that he continue his charge. Gates had already announced that he wished to retire, but he accepted Obama’s proposal. Afterward, he declared that he couldn’t refuse the commander in chief. His service to his country was beyond both political agenda and the plans of his personal life. He was now in charge of another mess: the war in Afghanistan. But at this point, he did advise his countrymen that he wouldn’t see the job through to the finish.

Gates has at times received applause and criticism for his attempt to stop the exponential increases of the Pentagon. In various instances, the secretary has denounced the wasteful framework of the military-industrial complex. For example, in one difficult battle he fought not to increase the number of F-22 fighters because he considered them inadequate for real wartime action. Regardless, many accuse him of talking more than carrying out any cuts, since the reality is that Defense Department spending has continued to rise under his direction.

Despite having presided over the military escalations in Iraq and Afghanistan, if one were to ask Gates what he liked best about his legacy that he will leave behind, he would probably respond that he was able to steer the future toward utilizing U.S. military power with better prudence. Not in vain, he recently said, “Any future Defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should ‘have his head examined.’”