From the former secretary of defense, a strikingly candid, vividly written account of his experience serving Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Before Robert M. Gates received a call from the White House in 2006, he thought he’d left Washington politics behind: after working for six presidents in both the CIA and the National Security Council, he was happy in his role as president of Texas A&M University. But when he was asked to help a nation mired in two wars and to aid the troops doing the fighting, he answered what he felt was the call of duty. Now, in this unsparing memoir, meticulously fair in its assessments, he takes us behind the scenes of his nearly five years as a secretary at war: the battles with Congress, the two presidents he served, the military itself, and the vast Pentagon bureaucracy; his efforts to help Bush turn the tide in Iraq; his role as a guiding, and often dissenting, voice for Obama; the ardent devotion to and love for American soldiers—his “heroes”—he developed on the job.
In relating his personal journey as secretary, Gates draws us into the innermost sanctums of government and military power during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, illuminating iconic figures, vital negotiations, and critical situations in revealing, intimate detail. Offering unvarnished appraisals of Dick Cheney, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Presidents Bush and Obama among other key players, Gates exposes the full spectrum of behind-closed-doors politicking within both the Bush and Obama administrations.
He discusses the great controversies of his tenure—surges in both Iraq and Afghanistan, how to deal with Iran and Syria, “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” Guantánamo Bay, WikiLeaks—as they played out behind the television cameras. He brings to life the Situation Room during the Bin Laden raid. And, searingly, he shows how congressional debate and action or inaction on everything from equipment budgeting to troop withdrawals was often motivated, to his increasing despair and anger, more by party politics and media impact than by members’ desires to protect our soldiers and ensure their success.
However embroiled he became in the trials of Washington, Gates makes clear that his heart was always in the most important theater of his tenure as secretary: the front lines. We journey with him to both war zones as he meets with active-duty troops and their commanders, awed by their courage, and also witness him greet coffin after flag-draped coffin returned to U.S. soil, heartbreakingly aware that he signed every deployment order. In frank and poignant vignettes, Gates conveys the human cost of war, and his admiration for those brave enough to undertake it when necessary.
Duty tells a powerful and deeply personal story that allows us an unprecedented look at two administrations and the wars that have defined them.
刘伯承元帅 内容简介 建军七十五周年之际,解放军出版社隆重推出“中国人民解放军元帅传记丛书”,其中包括朱德卷《红军之父》、彭德怀卷《雄关漫道》、刘伯承卷《新孙吴...
清代状元奇谈·清代状元谱 内容简介 清代状元奇谈·清代状元谱 目录 自序上编清代状元奇谈**辑大魁的幕后吕宫意外受赏识孙承恩诚实保桂冠严我斯科场二三事文章、书法...
共和!共和!-晚清风云与民国志士 本书特色 创建民国易,实践民主难。一样的共和,不一样的民国。历史是复杂的多棱镜,并非简单的黑白二分。走入先驱者们的内心世界,我...
安.兰德传-生平与思想 本书特色 安兰德(ayn rand, 1905—1982)是美国当代影响*大的作家、哲学家.她反抗西方传统伦理,力倡个人主义,崇尚尊重个...
《天堂城堡中的音乐:巴赫传》内容简介:约翰·塞巴斯蒂安·巴赫其人,在音乐史上始终是难以捉摸的谜题。人们很难将那些恢弘伟大的
中国脸谱-我们时代的集体记忆 本书特色 《中国脸谱:我们时代的集体记忆》:有一些人,值得用尽一生记忆。中国脸谱-我们时代的集体记忆 内容简介《中国脸谱:我们时代...
《从零开始学外汇交易》内容简介:为了能够让更多的交易者正确地掌握外汇交易方法和技巧,作者将近十来年来在实际操作中总 结提炼的
《罗斯福传(插图本)》是对罗斯福卓越人生的出色的解读,作者从罗斯福总统图书馆、哥伦比亚大学口述历史馆,以及其他渠道搜集资料
《列宁传:全面揭秘真实的列宁》力求体现以下几个特点:(1)实事求是。在西方出版的一些列宁研究成果中,尽管不乏一些新观点和新
国际象棋被誉为“世界上最富智慧的体育运动”,而卡斯帕罗夫在这个领域里称霸了二十余年,在无数次对弈过程中,他洞悉了国际象棋
《奥本海默传》内容简介:☆普利策奖、美国书评人协会奖、伦敦杜夫·库珀历史奖获奖传记,克里斯托弗·诺兰执导的电影《奥本海默》
苏东坡传:来如春梦去似云 本书特色 世事一场大梦,人生几度秋凉。 他一生大起大落,宦海浮沉,历尽波涛,却也为国为民,九死无悔!他一生恣意豁达,重情重义,胜友如云...
《Android底层开发实战》内容简介:自从2008年谷歌公司发布了Android系统之后,全球便开启了智能机的研究热潮。与此同时,谷歌联合
毛泽民夫人朱旦华访谈录 本书特色 《毛泽民夫人朱旦华访谈录》真实地再现了民族觉醒关键百年诸多的历史节点:20世纪30年代揭开国民党画皮的“新生事件、”知识青年去...
《C语言入门很轻松(微课超值版)》内容简介:本书是针对零基础读者研发的C语言入门教材。内容侧重实战,通过结合流行有趣的热点案
《再见大师》内容简介:这是风云突变千年未有之变局,也是文化激荡群星闪耀之时。台湾《传记文学》珍藏文集,再见民国大师。记录者
走近周恩来 内容简介 本书是一部长篇纪实作品,作者深入采访了曾在周恩来身边工作的机要秘书、军事秘书、外事秘书、警卫人员、医护人员、服务人员等,获得了*详细具体、...
烛泪如歌:“5.12”汶川大地震中的教师群像 内容简介 作者以真挚的感情、翔实的素材和生动细腻的笔法,再现了灾难来临的瞬间,延绵500里的龙门山脉山崩地裂,众多...
创造儿童教育奇迹-《速成识字法》与第二仓颉-祁建华的传奇人生 本书特色 首创《速成识字法》让他一炮而红,周总理钦点他“向文化开战”,摘掉扣在亿万国人头上的文盲帽...
本书作者张郎郎,他根据自己的“文革”经历写成的《宁静的地平线》一文曾收入《七十年代》(香港牛津、北京三联版)一书中,反响