Robert Gates: “the decision on Taiwan arms sales is fundamentally a political decision.”

the only way I could get significant new or additional equipment to commanders in the field in weeks or months--not years--was to take control of the problem myself through special task forces and ad hoc processes.

My staff and I have learned that it was nearly impossible to get accurate information and answers to questions such as, 'How much money did you spend?' and, 'How many people do you have?'

I think that it's still a problem for the Saudis.

I think the president is — based on what I read — is getting the sense that, as he put it, that Putin is 'tapping' him along.