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Obama’s Defense Secretary Comes Clean On Biden: “I think he’s gotten a lot wrong”

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Former defense secretary under President Obama Robert Gates called out President Joe Biden for his disastrous handling of what history will remember as the debacle in Kabul.

Gates sat for an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” and was reminded by Anderson Cooper about his unflattering portrayal of Biden in his memoir, “Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War,” where Gates said Biden has “been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”

And he did not back down from that telling Cooper that Biden has been wrong a lot before listing some of Biden’s mistakes, “He opposed every one of Ronald Reagan’s military programs to contest the Soviet Union. He opposed the first Gulf War. That list goes on. Now I will say that in the– in the Obama administration, he and I obviously had significant differences over Afghanistan. But he and I did agree in our opposition to the intervention in Libya and frankly on issues relating to Russia and China.”

Robert Gates: This notion that you can carry out effective counterterrorism in Afghanistan from a great distance, it’s not a fantasy, but it’s just very, very hard. As evidenced by the botched drone strike in Kabul in the final days of the withdrawal. The U.S. military claimed they’d killed an ISIS terrorist. It turned out to be an Afghan aid worker and seven children.  If you don’t have the kinda sources on the ground to have kind of real-time intelligence that allows you to target people, it’s very complicated.  

Anderson Cooper: If they can’t get that right a few blocks from the Kabul Airport, how’re you gonna get something right over the horizon?

Robert Gates: Exactly. 

Anderson Cooper: You wrote, Joe Biden “is a man of integrity. Still, I think he’s been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.” 

Robert Gates: I think he’s gotten a lot wrong.

Anderson Cooper: You’re talking all through the years–

Robert Gates: Yeah–

Anderson Cooper: –as vice president and as senator–

Robert Gates: He opposed every one of Ronald Reagan’s military programs to contest the Soviet Union. He opposed the first Gulf War. That list goes on. Now I will say that in the– in the Obama administration, he and I obviously had significant differences over Afghanistan. But he and I did agree in our opposition to the intervention in Libya and frankly on issues relating to Russia and China.

Anderson Cooper: But you think he made a mistake in Afghanistan in the way–

Robert Gates: Yes–

Anderson Cooper: –he handled the withdrawal.

Robert Gates: Yes.

Anderson Cooper: Do you think he believes he made a mistake?

Robert Gates: I– (LAUGH) I’ve worked for eight presidents, Anderson. I– I’ve never encountered a single one of ’em whoever– whoever said, “Well, I really blew that one.”

Anderson Cooper: Really? (LAUGH) Is that really true?

Robert Gates: No, never. They just don’t do it.  You know, deep in their heart they may know it. But they will–

Anderson Cooper: Really?

Robert Gates: –never say it.

Anderson Cooper: Do you think it would be better if they did?

Robert Gates: I– yes. I think it would make them more credible.

Transcript from CBS.

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