Robert Gates Nato

June 10, 2011 by staff

Robert Gates Nato, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is not throwing any blows this way out the door. In his final speech as head of policy at the Pentagon, Gates criticized European leaders not to commit the necessary resources to ongoing NATO-led campaigns in Afghanistan and Libya, saying that, because the alliance was facing a ” weak, if not sad “in the future.

“The future leaders of the U.S. political and those for whom the Cold War was the formative experience that was for me, can not see the return on U.S. investment in NATO’s worth the cost,” said Gates in a European reflection on the last day of a trip abroad n 11 days, according to the Associated Press.

Gates, who is stepping down later this month, has criticized European allies in the past to quit too heavy work for U.S. forces. But his final round of the strong statements stood out because it was unusually harsh, even by his standards.

“The stark reality is that there will be decreased appetite and patience in the U.S. Congress and the auto body politic large spend increasingly precious funds on behalf of the nations that are apparently willing to devote resources or make the changes needed to be serious and capable partners in their own defense, “he said.

Gates offered praise for a handful of allies such as Norway and Denmark to make disproportionately large sacrifices in Libya, but the bigger picture he painted was one of those who cannot live with his military obligations in Europe.

In Afghanistan, Gates said:

“Despite more than 2 million soldiers in uniform, not counting the U.S. military, NATO has struggled, sometimes desperately, to sustain a deployment of 25,000 to 45,000 soldiers, not only in boots on ground, but key supporting assets such as helicopters, transport aircraft, maintenance, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and more, “he said.
And in Libya:

“The most powerful military alliance in history is only 11 weeks in an operation against a poorly armed regime in a sparsely populated, however, many allies are beginning to run short of ammunition, requiring the U.S., a Again, to make a difference, “he said.
However, Gates was able to strike at least a slightly optimistic note, telling European leaders that NATO could succeed if they were willing to back their missions.

“What I have outlined the real possibility of a weak, if not bleak future for the transatlantic alliance,” Gates said. “This future is possible but not inevitable. The good news is that NATO members-individually and collectively, it is well within their means to halt and reverse these trends and instead of producing a very different future.”