Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Boston Globe
May 4, 2007
By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The United States should not shirk its responsibilities as a global leader or withdraw from the fight against terrorists just because Americans are weary of the fight, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday.
Two days after President Bush vetoed legislation that would have set a deadline for a troop withdrawal from Iraq, Gates said there is no end in sight to the long war against violent extremists.
"Our country is troubled and divided by a long and difficult war, a war whose end is not yet in sight," Gates said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Dallas Chamber of Commerce.
While acknowledging that weariness with the war is understandable, Gates added that "we must not let that weariness cause us to withdraw from the world or diminish our ability to deal with the threats and challenges of tomorrow. We simply cannot escape the responsibilities and burdens of global leadership; they will always follow us home."
Gates comments appeared to shrug off efforts by his top commander in the Middle East to shift away from references to the "long war." Admiral William Fallon, commander of US Central Command, decided that the phrase sent the wrong message to allies in the Middle East who could interpret it as a long-term commitment by the United States to combat or occupation in Iraq.
Gates's and Fallon's predecessors, former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and General John Abizaid, had used the term regularly to describe the war on terror -- a fight they said would be battled on many fronts.
May 4, 2007
By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The United States should not shirk its responsibilities as a global leader or withdraw from the fight against terrorists just because Americans are weary of the fight, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday.
Two days after President Bush vetoed legislation that would have set a deadline for a troop withdrawal from Iraq, Gates said there is no end in sight to the long war against violent extremists.
"Our country is troubled and divided by a long and difficult war, a war whose end is not yet in sight," Gates said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Dallas Chamber of Commerce.
While acknowledging that weariness with the war is understandable, Gates added that "we must not let that weariness cause us to withdraw from the world or diminish our ability to deal with the threats and challenges of tomorrow. We simply cannot escape the responsibilities and burdens of global leadership; they will always follow us home."
Gates comments appeared to shrug off efforts by his top commander in the Middle East to shift away from references to the "long war." Admiral William Fallon, commander of US Central Command, decided that the phrase sent the wrong message to allies in the Middle East who could interpret it as a long-term commitment by the United States to combat or occupation in Iraq.
Gates's and Fallon's predecessors, former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and General John Abizaid, had used the term regularly to describe the war on terror -- a fight they said would be battled on many fronts.