Robert Gates: “Secretary Gates told President Bush that Guantanamo was a national security liability and advised him to close it down.”

He would be candid and honest, willing to tell the President straight from the shoulder what he needs to hear.

Putin hasn't given up on any of his original goals in Ukraine.

This is a Department that principally plans for war. It is not organized to wage war, and that is what I am trying to fix.

The President does not like having countervailing opinions, he does not like being disagreed with.