Robert Gates: “The commissions are very much still on the table.”

I think part of the problem is that at the end of the Cold War, we were affected by triumphalism or hubris, whatever you want to call it.

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.

it's a terrible way to budget. I mean, it is a gimmick.

Allies are a huge asset and in not understanding that I think is a real problem.