Nomination Of Robert M. Gates

NOMINATION OF ROBERT M. GATES--Continued -- (Senate - December 06, 2006)

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Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, I rise today to voice my opposition to the nomination of Robert Gates to be Secretary of Defense.

The safety and security of the American people must be our Government's top priority. We need to continue to do everything we can to protect our homeland. We cannot place our heads in the sand and ignore the fact that we remain a nation at war. Daily we face brutal enemies that despise the very principles that we stand for and our way of life.

At this time of war, our President and our Nation rely on the Secretary of Defense to provide sound advice and to lead our Armed Forces as they continue to combat our enemies. The Secretary of Defense has the responsibility of leading the strongest and most capable military in the world. He must be a man of vision who can adequately assess threats against our national security and formulate the best response to these threats.

The President nominated Mr. Gates for a managerial post of great difficulty and complexity, and I do not believe that he is the best person to help us meet our Nation's critical challenges. Mr. Gates has repeatedly criticized our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan without providing any viable solutions to the problems our troops currently face. I am concerned with the message he is sending to our troops and our allies around the world. We need a Secretary of Defense to think forward with solutions and not backward on history we cannot change.

Mr. Gates also believes in directly engaging rogue nations such as Iran and Syria that are known sponsors of terrorist groups in Iraq, Lebanon and the West Bank and Gaza. I do not support inviting terrorists to the negotiating table. Such a shift in our Nation's foreign policy could have grave consequences for our national security.

Let me be clear that I am not here today to discredit Robert Gates' record of public service to our Nation. I am here to raise concerns with his nomination to be Secretary of Defense. It is a position of immense importance and carries a great deal of responsibility.

It is for these reservations that I find myself unable to support the nomination of Robert Gates for Secretary of Defense.

It is clear from following his Armed Services Committee nomination hearing and my colleagues' speeches that Mr. Gates will be confirmed to be the next Secretary of Defense. However, we cannot afford to fail in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other areas in the war against radical terrorists. I hope during Mr. Gates' tenure at the Department of Defense that we are able to make peace and progress on all these fronts. The future of our country depends on it.

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