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JOE JOHNS:
As we just mentioned, President-elect Obama wants the
man President Bush installed at the Pentagon, Robert
Gates, to stay there when he takes office next month.
CNN's Michael Ware is live in Baghdad for us.
Michael, what does the Gates' reappointment mean?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Joe, what this
primarily is, is a reassuring and savvy act of
ongoing stewardship at a time where America is waging
two wars. Now, if, indeed, it's confirmed as we
expect that President-elect Obama will continue in
office Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Gates
himself is a politically nonaligned individual who's
seen as something of a moderate. Now in many ways,
Secretary Gates' presence has been important in
rehabilitating the relationship between those in
uniform in Washington and the civilians who command
them. A relationship that's been so badly damaged
under the current administration.
Also, as a former director of Central Intelligence,
Secretary Gates is a good bridge between the
intelligence community and the Pentagon, and finally,
of course, as one of the stewards of the so-called
surge strategy here in Iraq that's been considered so
successful, Secretary Gates could also be a tempering
influence on the pace of an Obama administration's
withdrawal from Iraq -- Joe.
JOHNS: So Michael, given the points you've made here,
should Obama have gone with a fresh face or is Gates
moving in the right direction?
WARE: I think it's a move in the right direction.
Certainly you couldn't have reappointed a Donald
Rumsfeld, for example, but Secretary Gates is by no
means, by no stretch of the imagination, a Secretary
Rumsfeld. Secretary Gates is a pro. I mean a
careerist in the CIA, he rose to the level of
Director of the CIA, and with the military, certainly
here on the ground that I've seen in Baghdad, he's
much more consultative. I mean, we're not seeing a
civilian political agenda, jammed down the throats of
military commanders who are preparing or are actually
waging war. And we saw that under Secretary Rumsfeld.
So it's a much better atmosphere within the military
community in D.C. and here on the front lines. So I
think that bodes well, particularly with
President-elect Obama moving into office with his
promise to reduce the number of U.S. troops here and
bring them home, in a timetable that does not
consider what's happening here on the ground. So
America needs to protect its interests here in Iraq
and Secretary Gates may be a good form of continuity
to make sure that that protection is in place -- Joe.
JOHNS: So speaking of on the ground, Gates gets
pretty good marks there, I take it, among the
military leaders?
WARE: Yes, he does. I mean as I said, he's not seen
as forcing issues upon the military commanders. He's
not telling them how many troops they must have. He's
much more consultative and listening to what they're
saying about what they need and what's the situation
that confronts them here in this war that's still
going on, even though it mightn't be in the headlines
back home. We saw that 297 Iraqis died here last
month and, indeed, at least 35 have died just today
alone.
So this war is still going, and we know that from
some reports that indeed, Secretary Gates, unlike
other secretaries, attends the weekly meetings of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. I mean, in one way, it's a
small thing, in another way it's a very big thing.
And given that we have such a progressive
administration coming in, having someone from the
past to provide continuity could be a very good play
especially to commanders -- Joe.
JOHNS: Michael Ware, thanks for that. Good talking to
you.