Robert Gates

Above all, there must be an Afghan face on this war.

A strong political, diplomatic, and civilian capacity-building effort can advance progress and lay a foundation for lasting peace and security.

President Obama has made it clear that the Afghanistan theater should be our top overseas military priority.

I thank the committee for your confidence in my leadership and your enduring, steadfast support of the military.

The F-22 and F-35 were developed for different types of missions and to fill different capability gaps.

Yes, care for our wounded warriors are enduring requirements for DOD.

I believe that the civilian casualties are doing us enormous harm in Afghanistan, and we have to do better in terms of avoiding casualties.

The future direction of the F-22 program lies in factors such as compliance with the requirements of the current National Military Strategy.

The issues that often arise between the demands of military operations and of other intelligence requirements have to do with the capacity of collection systems and with assignment of analysts.

[b]usiness as usual [in terms of the Department's budget decisions] is no longer an option.

While the Army Field Manual has proven adequate for the DOD, I think the CIA is in the best position to judge whether or not the Army Field Manual is adequate for interrogations conducted by the CIA.

The President and I need your help, as all of us together do what is best for America as a whole in making those decisions.

Though the ISF are becoming increasingly more capable, they still need our assistance providing critical enabling capabilities like logistics, intelligence, and fire support.

I'm firmly committed to a competitive process.

Our civilian institutions of diplomacy and development have been chronically undermanned and underfunded for far too long.

I think the ISF have made enormous progress during my time in Iraq, both quantitatively and, more important, qualitatively. There is still a ways to go. And clearly, still a continuing need for our security support.

robust testing is necessary.

We cannot afford to do everything and buy everything, but at the same time, we cannot afford defeat.

America's civilian institutions of diplomacy and development have been chronically undermanned and underfunded for far too long.

Our civilian institutions of diplomacy and development have been chronically undermanned and underfunded for far too long.

It is just plain embarrassing that al-Qaeda is better at communicating its message on the Internet than America.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes that future success in foreign policy and the fight against terrorism will be 'less a matter of imposing one's will and more a function of shaping behavior--of friends, adversaries, and, most…

I think the key for us is, on those rare occasions when we do make a mistake, when there is an error, to apologize quickly, to compensate the victims quickly, and then carry out the investigation.

The United States spent 45 years working very hard to avoid a military confrontation with Russia. I see no reason to change that approach today.

The U.S.-Russian relationship could be adversely affected for years to come.