Robert Gates, the newly appointed US defense secretary said that the demand to bring US troops back home is understandable. But at the same time he said that if the peace-establishing process in Iraq would fail, it will be a calamity that would haunts and threatens America for long.
Gates said at Pentagon that
all of us want to find a way to bring America’s sons and daughters home again. However, as the president has made clear, we simply cannot afford to fail in the Middle East.
Failure in Iraq at this time would be a calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility and endanger Americans for decades to come.
Earlier Gates had said earlier that the US was not winning in Iraq. He had also said that it was not losing either. He termed Iraq as his top-most priority. He said further that he would visit Iraq soon to meet with commanders working there to work for a new war plan.
