Defense Secretary Robert Gates News

Defense Secretary Robert Gates News From AOL News

Q&A: How Are the Taliban Linked to the Ancient Tribe the World Never Quite Conquers?

Just when NATO forces in Afghanistan thought the Taliban were finally less of a threat, they staged an astonishing comeback Monday when they broke about 488 of their colleagues, mostly fighters and commanders, out of a maximum-security prison. Five days before the mass escape from Kandahar's Sarpoza prison, Defense...

Gates: US Troops Could Remain in Iraq After 2011

MOSUL, Iraq -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, visiting Iraq on the eve of the eighth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, said Friday the United States could extend its troop presence in the country beyond the scheduled 2011 pullout. Gates said that if Iraq wants American troops to remain, a deal could be negotiated...

USS Ponce and USS Kearsarge: Libya-Bound American Warships by the Numbers

To the shores of Tripoli! As the revolt against Libya's Col. Moammar Gadhafi intensifies on a daily basis, a pair of U.S. warships entered the Suez Canal this morning, en route to the country's coast. With the USS Kearsarge and USS Ponce making their way to the North African nation's waters, Surge Desk put together a...

Amid Budget Cuts, Air Force to Develop New Bomber

The Pentagon's new budget request ends a number of sophisticated weapons development programs that military leaders believe are ill-suited to current global threats, but there's at least one new system in the military pipeline: an Air Force bomber that can penetrate deep into enemy airspace. But don't expect a futuristic...

Pentagon Outlines Plans to Implement 'Don't Ask' Repeal

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon, releasing the first details of its plan to implement a new law that will allow gays to serve openly in the military, said today it could begin training troops in February and could be certifiably ready to drop the "don't ask, don't tell" policy by the end of 2011. Defense Secretary Robert Gates...