Robert Gates actually said...
There are things that we need to better ensure the safety and the effectiveness of our warfighters, and to the extent that you take away money for those needs and simply use it to buy aircraft that we do not need, you put in danger our warfighters. Rather than making them more effective and safer, you make them less effective and less safe.
Context
Gates warns against reallocating funds from essential needs to unnecessary aircraft purchases.
07/12/2010