Försvarsminister Gates tackade också i sitt tal de två presidenter han tjänat under - George W. Bush och Barack Obama - och sa att övergången mellan de två var unik och fungerade alldeles utmärkt:
...on this, the last stop of what has been dubbed “the long goodbye,” I’d like to spend just a few minutes talking about the men and women that I’ve been fortunate to work with in this job.
I’d like to start with the two Presidents whom I’ve been privileged to serve in this role. Serving as Secretary of Defense has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life, and for that I will always be grateful. First, to President Bush for giving me this historic opportunity and for the support he provided during those difficult early months and years on the job. And then to President Obama for his confidence in taking the historic step of asking me, someone he did not know at all, to stay on, and for his continuing trust ever since.
The transition from the Bush to the Obama administration was the first of its kind from one political party to another during war in nearly 40 years. The collegiality, thoroughness, and professionalism of the Bush-Obama transition were of great benefit to the country, and were a tribute to the character and judgment of both Presidents.
I’ve also been fortunate that both Presidents provided me an excellent team of senior civilian appointees. When I took this post, the first and best decision I made was to retain every single senior official I inherited from Secretary Rumsfeld, including his personal front office staff, most of whom have been with me to this day
Likewise, I’ve been fortunate to receive another first-class roster of senior civilian officials from President Obama. They've provided me superb counsel and support on a range of difficult institutional issues and strategic initiatives.
Robert Gates var en förträfflig försvarsminister som översett såväl USA:s truppökning i Irak som den förnyade kampen mot talibanerna 2008. Under några år när USA präglats av partipolitisk splittring har han också representerat kontinuitet och att patriotism också överskrider rivaliserande partigränser. Obamas beslut att låta Robert Gates fortsätta var ett av hans bättre politiska val - hans beslut att nu också tilldela Gates the Medal of Freedom ett annat.
Se även tidigare inlägg:
Robert Gates ifrågasätter NATO-alliansens trovärdighet 20110610
Obama pålyser byte i militärpersonal 20110531
Obama förnyar personalstyrka: uppgraderar Bush-anställda 20110427
George W. Bush och Robert Gates på scout-event i Dallas 20110306
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