1. CIA Director Leon Panetta, 2010

    CIA Director to Succeed Robert Gates

    Intelligence director Leon Panetta will be challenged by Congress in an effort to make the army smaller and cheaper.

  1. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates speaks to United States Marines deployed in Afghanistan, March 9, 2010

    Has Gates Given Up on Counterinsurgency?

    In a recent speech, the defense secretary seemed to disavow America’s ground wars in the Middle East.

  1. Defense Minister Kitazawa Toshimi of Japan and Defense Secretary Robert Gates at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo, January 13, 2011

    Clinton, Gates Come Down Hard on China

    The American secretaries of state and defense urged China to become a more responsible world leader this week.

  1. Defense secretary Robert Gates greets his Chinese counterpart General Cao Gangchuan in Beijing, 2007

    Gates to Mend Relations in Beijing

    The defense secretary will try to soothe some of the tension that has become evident in the Sino-American relationship.

  1. Clinton, Gates Urge Senate to Ratify START

    According to the secretaries of state and defense, New START deserves prompt ratification. “Our national security depends on it.”