At Hearing, Gates Says US Not Winning War in Iraq
    By David Stout
    The New York Times

    Tuesday 05 December 2006

    Washington - President Bush's nominee to be defense secretary said today that the United States was not winning the war in Iraq, and that an American failure there could help to ignite "a regional conflagration" in the Middle East.

    Robert M. Gates, who will succeed Donald H. Rumsfeld as the Pentagon's chief if he is confirmed as expected, also told senators that the United States went to war in Iraq without enough troops, as some generals said at the outset of the conflict.

    The statements about the situation in Iraq came during exchanges with Senators Carl Levin of Michigan, the panel's ranking Democrat and soon to be chairman, and John McCain, Republican of Arizona, during Mr. Gates's confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

    "Mr. Gates, do you believe that we are currently winning in Iraq?" Mr. Levin asked.

    "No, sir," Mr. Gates replied, going on to agree with the senator that a political settlement is needed to end the blood-letting, and that the United States needed to convey "a sense of urgency" to the Iraqis about reaching an accord.

    Mr. Levin said Mr. Gates's remarks amounted to a "necessary, refreshing breath of reality."

    Senator McCain pursued the point about victory being elusive. "We are not winning the war in Iraq, is that correct?" the senator asked.

    "That is my view, yes, senator," Mr. Gates replied.

    "And therefore the status quo is not acceptable?" Mr. McCain pressed.

    "That is correct, sir," Mr. Gates said.

    He added that the United States is not losing the war, either.

    His assessment came minutes after Senator John W. Warner, the Virginia Republican who heads the committee, said he believed that the United States was "drifting sideways" in Iraq, and that the American people are demanding change.

    Mr. Gates said "there clearly were insufficient troops in Iraq after the initial invasion." While he said that he envisions "a dramatically smaller" number of United States troops there, he said an American presence would be required "for a long time."

    Developments in Iraq "in the next year or two" will shape the future of the entire Middle East, Mr. Gates said in describing the possibility of a "regional conflagration" arising out of the Iraq bloodshed.

    Mr. Gates told the senators at the outset that he is "open to a wide range of ideas and proposals" about what to do in Iraq, and that America's overall goal should still be an Iraq that can "sustain itself, defend itself and govern itself," the objective that President Bush has long set out.

    But Mr. Gates said he believes the president "wants me to take a fresh look, and all options are on the table." Indeed, as a member of the Iraq Study Group until he was nominated to succeed Mr. Rumsfeld, Mr. Gates had already been taking part in a sweeping review of the situation in Iraq.

    Mr. Gates has been president of Texas A&M University, and he told the senators that he is not giving up that job, which he loves, to be anyone's sycophant in Washington. "I don't owe anybody anything," he said, vowing to give not only the president but the Congress his unvarnished advice.

    Mr. McCain has been among the few lawmakers who have been calling for more American troops in Iraq. Consequently, Mr. Gates's comments about reducing American troop strength there while still working to forestall a regional catastrophe seemed likely to influence debate throughout the confirmation hearing, which Senator Warner said would probably be concluded this afternoon.

    Mr. Gates, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, seems assured of confirmation. Even Senator Levin, who opposed his confirmation as CIA head 15 years ago, promised "a fresh and fair look" at Mr. Gates's record since then.

    The nominee's vision of a self-sustaining, self-defending, self-governing Iraq, and his assessment that American strength there can and should be drastically reduced, emerged as crucial debating points before the panel.

    So did Mr. Gates's remarks that he believes President Bush knows that things are not going well there, an observation that counters the view of administration critics who say Mr. Bush has been in denial about the situation in Iraq since the relatively easy military victory that toppled Saddam Hussein.

    Mr. Gates pledged to confer with uniformed military leaders as well as political figures if he becomes Defense Secretary. He also vowed to try for a spirit of bipartisanship, a spirit that senators of both parties agreed has been in short supply of late. Administration critics have complained for many months that President Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld ignored the advice of generals who said that imposing a stable peace in Iraq would be far harder than winning the war there, and require many more troops.

    The nominee said he was humbled by the knowledge that "my decisions will have life-and-death consequences," a sad reality that has already been driven home at Texas A&M, 12 of whose graduates have been killed in Iraq.

    "I would run in the morning with some of those kids," Mr. Gates said in an exchange with Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts. "I'd have lunch with them. They'd share with me their aspirations and their hopes. And I'd hand them their degree, I'd attend their commissioning, and then, I would get word of their death. So all this comes down to being very personal for all of us."

    There was little political suspense surrounding the nomination, as Mr. Gates seemed certain to win the Armed Services Committee's endorsement, possibly as early as this afternoon, and confirmation by the full Senate this week.

    Senator Levin was one of 31 senators, all Democrats, who opposed Mr. Gates's nomination to head the CIA 15 years ago. The senator said today he thought Mr. Gates had been "less than candid" about his role in the Iran-contra scandal of two decades ago, but that he has been reassured by Mr. Gates's more recent frankness.

    (Mr. Levin said later that he was "very pleased" with Mr. Gates's presentation, and that it "bodes well" for a quick confirmation.) Senator Kennedy also opposed Mr. Gates's confirmation 15 years ago, but he thanked the nominee today for being willing to serve in government again. Three other committee Democrats, Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut and Daniel K. Akaka of Hawaii, supported Mr. Gates in 1991.

    Former Senator Bob Dole (whose wife, Senator Elizabeth Dole, Republican of North Carolina, is a committee member) introduced the nominee and praised him lavishly. So did former Senator David Boren, Democrat of Oklahoma, who brought with him a warm written endorsement from former Senator Sam Nunn, a Democrat from Georgia.