Who Is Defense Secretary Nominee Robert Gates?

Nov. 8, 2006 — -- By choosing Robert Gates as his nominee for defense secretary, President Bush invited speculation that he was looking for major changes in his Iraq policy.

Such speculation is inevitable because of Gates' close association with former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, a sharp critic of the Iraq war.

Gates served as deputy to Scowcroft in the early years of the presidency of Bush's father, George H.W. Bush.

Retired Army Gen. Jack Keane, now an ABC News consultant, said Gates "will bring a new perspective on Iraq."

A short time later at the White House, with Gates and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld standing beside him, President Bush used similar words, saying Gates would "provide the department with a fresh perspective and new ideas on how America can achieve our goals in Iraq."

The president noted that when Gates interviewed for the top job at Texas A&M University, "he described himself as an agent of change."

Gates is a member of the Baker-Hamilton Commission, also known as the Iraq Study Group, which will make recommendations on U.S. policy toward Iraq.

Bush noted today that Gates had visited Iraq and spoken to U.S. commanders and troops.

Rumors have circulated for weeks in Washington that the commission will urge the president to begin a staged reduction of American troops.

Should those rumors prove true, Rumsfeld might have a hard time carrying out what could be seen as a repudiation of present policy.

Fairly or unfairly, Rumsfeld's critics view him as rigid and resistant to compromise.

Because Gates has long been out of government, he is not personally connected to Iraq policy. He was not eager to leave his post as president of Texas A&M University.

Early last year, Gates said that he'd been asked to accept the new position of "intelligence czar," director of national intelligence.

Gates wrote that he "wrestled with perhaps the most difficult -- and close -- decision of my life, and last week declined the position."

He later said he "had nothing to look forward to in D.C., and plenty to look forward to at A&M."