Robert Gates actually said...

July 2011 is the beginning of a process of drawing down in Afghanistan. That process will be based on conditions on the ground.

Gates discusses the timeline for U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

01/27/2010

More Robert Gates Quotes

By continuing to repeat that the U.S. will not put boots on the ground, the President, in effect, traps himself.

They're not going to be able to be successful against the ISIS strictly from the air or strictly depending on the Iraqi forces or the Peshme...

So there will be boots on the ground if there is to be any hope of success in the strategy.

In the end, the Iraqi leadership did not try to get an agreement through their parliament that would have made possible a continued U.S. mil...