There has been some grumbling among Bush administration officials about the reluctance — and at times the refusal — of Defense Secretary Robert Gates to advocate administration positions in public. Gates gave a rare interview to CNN this week and John McCain must hope that he goes back into hiding. After stressing the importance of getting the “endgame” right in Iraq, Gates declared that both McCain and Barack Obama would take a “sensible approach” in their pursuit of an endgame. Gates may not be following the campaign closely, busy as he has been with his day job. But it would be rather stunning if he does not know that McCain and Obama each have proposed an “endgame” that is precisely the opposite of the one proposed by the other. Barack Obama, according to his website, will “immediately begin to withdraw troops” regardless of the security conditions on the ground in Iraq. John McCain’s website proclaims that he “strongly disagrees with those who advocate withdrawing U.S. troops” before the Iraqi government can safeguard its people. “I’ve said repeatedly we can’t get the endgame wrong. The next president would suffer the greatest consequences if we do get the endgame wrong, so I think whoever’s elected is likely to take a fairly sensible approach to it.” This is, to put it kindly, complete nonsense. Gates was trying to avoid injecting himself into the political debate. Fair enough. But he should not be neutral about the “endgame.” Does he believe that an immediate withdrawal of troops is acceptable?
