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Geopolitics, from Greek Γη (earth) and Πολιτική (politics) in broad terms, is a theory that describes the relation between politics and territory whether on local or international scale.

It comprises the art and practice of analysing, proscribing, forecasting, and the using of political power over a given territory. Specifically, is a method of foreign policy analysis, which seeks to understand, explain and predict international political behaviour primarily in terms of geographical variables. Those geographical variables generally are: geographic location of the country or countries in question, size of the countries involved, climate of the region the countries are in, topography of the region, demography, natural resources available in the territory, technological development.^[1] Traditionally, the term has applied primarily to the impact of geography on politics (and likewise), but its usage has evolved over the past century to encompass wider connotations.

In the abstract, geopolitics traditionally indicates the links and causal relationships between political power and geographic space; in concrete terms it is often seen as a body of thought assaying specific strategic prescriptions based on the relative importance of land power and sea power in world history. The geopolitical tradition had some consistent concerns, like the geopolitical correlates of power in world politics, the identification of international core areas, and the relationships between naval and terrestrial capabilities.^[2]

Academically, the study of geopolitics involves the analysis of geography, history and social science with reference to spatial politics and patterns at various scales (ranging from the level of the state to international). It is multidisciplinary in its scope, and includes all aspects of the social sciences with particular emphasis on political geography, international relations, the territorial aspects of political science and international law.^[3] Also, the study of geopolitics includes the study of the ensemble of relations between the interests of international political actors, interests focused to an area, space, geographical element or ways, relations which create a geopolitical system.^[4]

Main schools and doctrines[link]

The term was coined at the beginning of the 20th century by Rudolf Kjellén (1864–1922), a Swedish political scientist, inspired by the German geographer Friedrich Ratzel, whose book Politische Geographie (political geography) was published in 1897. It was later popularized in English by the Hungarian historian Emile Reich and later by the American diplomat Robert Strausz-Hupé, a faculty member of the University of Pennsylvania. Although Halford Mackinder had a pioneering role in the field, he actually never used the term geopolitics himself.^[5]

German Geopolitik[link]

German Geopolitik is characterized by the belief that life of States is similar to the one of Human beings and animals, mainly imposed by scientific determinism and Social Darwinism. German geopolitics will thoroughly develop the concept of Lebensraum (vital space) supposedly necessary to the developement of a Nation alike a favorable natural environment would be for animals.

Ratzel[link]

Friedrich Ratzel (1844–1904), influenced by thinkers like Darwin and zoologist Ernst Heinrich Haeckel, contributed to Geopolitik by the expansion on the biological conception of geography, without a static conception of borders. States are instead organic and growing, with borders representing only a temporary stop in their movement. It is not the state proper that is the organism, but the land in its spiritual bond with the people who draw sustenance from it. The expanse of a state’s borders is a reflection of the health of the nation meaning that static countries are in decline.

He published several papers, among which the essay Lebensraum (1901) concerning biogeography, creating a foundation for the uniquely German variant of geopolitics: geopolitik. Influenced by the American geostrategist Alfred Thayer Mahan, Ratzel wrote of aspirations for German naval reach, agreeing that sea power was self-sustaining, as the profit from trade would pay for the merchant marine, unlike land power.

The geopolitical theory of Ratzel has been criticized as being too sweeping, his interpretation of human history and geography too simple and mechanistic. In his analysis of the importance of mobility, and the move from sea to rail transport, he failed to predict the revolutionary impact of air power. Critically also he underestimated the importance of social organization in the development of power.^[6]

The association of German Geopolitiks with Nazism[link]

After World War I, the thoughts of Rudolf Kjellén and Ratzel were picked up and extended by a number of German authors such as Karl Haushofer (1869–1946), Erich Obst, Hermann Lautensach and Otto Maull. In 1923 Karl Haushofer founded the Zeitschrift für Geopolitik (Journal for Geopolitics), which later proved useful to Nazi Germany propaganda. The key concepts of Haushofer's Geopolitik were Lebensraum, autarky, pan-regions and organic borders. States have, Haushofer argued, undeniable right to seek natural borders which would guarantee autarky.

More recently Haushofer's influence within the Nazi Party has been questioned (O'Tuathail, 1996) since Haushofer failed to incorporate the Nazis' racial ideology into his work. Popular views of the role of geopolitics in the Nazi Third Reich suggest a fundamental significance on the part of the geopoliticians in the ideological orientation of the Nazi state. Bassin (1987) reveals that these popular views are in important ways misleading and incorrect. Despite the numerous similarities and affinities between the two doctrines, geopolitics was always held suspect by the National Socialist ideologists. This suspicion was understandable, for the underlying philosophical orientation of geopolitics ran counter to that of National Socialism. Geopolitics, deriving from the political geography of Ratzel, shared his scientific materialism and determinism. Human society was determined by external influences, in the face of which qualities held innately by individuals or groups were of reduced or no significance. National Socialism rejected in principle both materialism and determinism and also elevated innate human qualities, in the form of a hypothesized 'racial character,' to the factor of greatest significance in the constitution of human society. These differences led after 1933 to friction and ultimately to open denunciation of geopolitics by Nazi ideologues.^[7] Nevertheless, German Geopolitik was discredited by its (mis)use in Nazi expansionist policy of World War II and has never achieved standing comparable to the pre-war period.

Anglo-American geopolitical doctrine[link]

Alfred Thayer Mahan and the sea power[link]

Alfred Thayer Mahan, a frequent commentator on world naval strategic and diplomatic affairs, believed that national greatness was inextricably associated with the sea, with its commercial usage in peace and its control in war. His goal was to discover the laws of history that determined who controlled the seas.

Mahan's theoretical framework came from Antoine-Henri Jomini, with an emphasis on strategic locations (such as chokepoints, canals, and coaling stations), as well as quantifiable levels of fighting power in a fleet. He proposed six conditions required for a nation to have sea power:

1. An advantageous geographical position
2. Serviceable coastlines, abundant natural resources, and a favorable climate
3. Extent of territory
4. A population large enough to defend its territory
5. A society with an aptitude for the sea and commercial enterprise
6. A government with the influence to dominate the sea.^[8]

Emil Reich[link]

Hungarian historian Emil Reich (1854–1910) is considered to be the first having coined the acception in English^[9] as early as 1902 and later in 1904 in his book Foundations of Modern Europe.^[10]

Mackinder and the Heartland theory[link]

Sir Halford Mackinder's Heartland concept showing the situation of the "pivot area" established in the Theory of the Heartland. He later revised it to mark Eastern Europe as a pivot while keeping area marked above as Heartland.

The concept of geopolitics initially gained attention through the work of Sir Halford Mackinder in England and his formulation of the Heartland Theory which was set out in his article entitled "The Geographical Pivot of History" in 1904. Mackinder's doctrine of geopolitics involved concepts diametrically opposed to the notion of Alfred Thayer Mahan about the significance of navies (he coined the term sea power) in world conflict. He saw navy as a basis of Colombian era empire (roughly 1492–19^th century) and expected 20^th century to be domain of land power. The Heartland theory hypothesized the possibility for a huge empire being brought into existence in the Heartland, which wouldn't need to use coastal or transoceanic transport to remain coherent.

The basic notions of Mackinder's doctrine involve considering the geography of the Earth as being divided into two sections, the World Island or Core, comprising Eurasia and Africa; the Peripheral "islands", including the Americas, Australia, Japan, the British Isles, and Oceania. Not only was the Periphery noticeably smaller than the World Island, it necessarily required much sea transport to function at the technological level of the World Island, which contained sufficient natural resources for a developed economy.

Also, the industrial centers of the Periphery were necessarily located in widely separated locations. The World Island could send its navy to destroy each one of them in turn. It could locate its own industries in a region further inland than the Periphery could, so they would have a longer struggle reaching them, and would face a well-stocked industrial bastion. Mackinder called this region the Heartland. It essentially comprised Eastern Europe: Ukraine, Western Russia, and Mitteleuropa.^[11] The Heartland contained the grain reserves of Ukraine, and many other natural resources. Mackinder's notion of geopolitics can be summed up in his saying "Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland. Who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island. Who rules the World-Island commands the World." His doctrine was influential during the World Wars and the Cold War, for Germany and later Russia each made territorial strides toward the Heartland.

Spykman and the Rimland[link]

Nicholas J. Spykman could be considered as a disciple and critic of both geostrategists Alfred Mahan, and Halford Mackinder. His work is based on assumptions similar to Mackinder: the unity of world politics, and the unity of the world sea. He extends this to include the unity of the air. Spykman adopts Mackinder's divisions of the world, renaming some:

• the Heartland;
• the Rimland (analogous to Mackinder's "inner or marginal crescent" also an intermediate region, lying between the Heartland and the marginal sea powers); and
• the Offshore Islands & Continents (Mackinder's "outer or insular crescent").^[12]

The purpose of Rimland is to separate Heartland from ports usable throughout the year (not frozen up during winter), therefore any attempts by Heartland nations (Russia) to conquere Rimland must be prevented. Spykman modified Mackinder's formula on relationship between the Heartand and the Rimland (or the inner crescent), he claimed, that "Who controls the rimland rules Eurasia. Who rules Eurasia controls the destinies of the world." This theory can be traced in the origins of Containment, a U.S. policy on preventing the spread of Soviet influence after the World War II (see also Truman Doctrine).

Huntington[link]

Since then, the word geopolitics has been applied to other theories, most notably the notion of the Clash of Civilizations by Samuel Huntington thoroughly inspired from Fernand Braudel in Grammaire des civilisations. In a peaceable world, neither sea lanes nor surface transport are threatened; hence all countries are effectively close enough to one another physically. It is in the realm of the political ideas, workings, and cultures that there are differences, and the term has shifted more towards this arena, especially in its popular usage. Huntington’s geopolitical model, especially the structures for North Africa and Eurasia, is largely derived from the "Intermediate Region" geopolitical model first formulated by Dimitri Kitsikis and published in 1978.^[13]

French approach on Geopolitics[link]

French doctrines mainly relies in opposition to German Geopolitik and rejects the idea of a fixed geography, hence French geography is focused on the evolution of polymorphic territories being the result of mankind actions. It also relies in the consideration of long time periods through refusal of taking specific events into account.

This Method has been theorized by Professor Lacoste according to three principles: Representation, Diachronie; Diatopie.

Montesqieu[link]

In The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu outlined the view that man and societies are influenced by climate. He believed that hotter climates create hot-tempered people and colder climates aloof people, whereas the mild climate of France is ideal for political systems.

Élisée Reclus[link]

Considered as one of the founders of French geopolitics, Reclus, is the author of a book considered as a reference in modern geography (Nouvelle Géographie universelle). Alike Ratzel, he considers geography through a global vision. However, in complete opposition to Ratzel's vision, Reclus considers geography not to be unchanging; it is supposed to evolve in contingent with human actions. His progressive political views got him rejected from the academic establishment.

Jacques Ancel[link]

French geographer and geopolitician Jacques Ancel is considered to be the first theorician of geopolitics in France notably through the lectures he gave at the Carnegie foundation and his book "Géopolitique" published in 1936. Alike Reclus he rejects German determinist views on geopolitics (such as Haushofer's doctrines).

Fernand Braudel, Vidal de la Blache[link]

Braudel's broad view used insights from other social sciences, employed the concept of the longue durée, and downplayed the importance of specific events. This method was inspired by the French geographer Paul Vidal de la Blache (himself influenced by German thought especially by Friedrich Ratzel whom he had met in Germany). Moreover, Braudel's method consisted in analysing the interdependence between individuals and their environment.^[14]

"Vidalian” geography is based on varied forms of cartography and on possibilism (founded on a societal approach of geography i.e. on the principle of spaces polymorphic faces depending from many factors among them mankind, culture, and ideas) as opposed to determinism.

Lacoste and the rebirth of French Geopolitics[link]

Because of the German Geopolitik influence on French Geopolitics, the latter were for a long time banished from academic works, often considered to be a Nazi science.

In the mid-1970s, Yves Lacoste a French geographer who was directly inspired by Ancel, Braudel and Vidal de la Blache founded l'Institut Français de Géopolitique (French Institute for Geopolitics) that publishes the Hérodote revue. While rejecting generalizations and broad abstractions employed by the German and Anglo-American traditions, the school focuses on spatial dimension on different levels of analysis.

In his work, Lacoste set a system of academic principle. According to Lacoste every issue (conflictual situation whether it is local or global) is to be apprehended through three key notions:

• Representation: Each group or individuals is the product of an education, thus, views regarding every issues are oriented, being the product of their beliefs education ethnic group... Therefore one should analyse the representations of the forces in presence with distance in order to understand their motivations and revendications.
• Diachronie: diachronic analyse is a tool that allows to conduct a Braudelian analyse (i.e. through long period of time)
• Diatopie: diatopic analyse is a tool that allows to conduct a cartographic survey through a multiscale mapping.
• Horogenesis: Neologism coined by geographer Michel Foucher, the concept consists in the studying of the birth and death of borders

Russian Geopolitics[link]

The modern day Russian Geopolitcs is centered on Eurasianist tradition and is highly interlinked with politics. The trauma of the disintegration of the Soviet Union left behind various views ranging from moderate – stressing the unique position of Russia between Europe and Asia – to more extreme arguing for Greater Russia aspirations (renaissance of Russian empire in the borders of the former Soviet Union) associated with expansionist views of Alexandr Dugin.

Meta-geopolitics[link]

The concept of geopolitics has evolved over time. Nevertheless, in today’s globalised, interdependent and interconnected world classical geopolitics provide only a partial picture of international relations. New actors and issues, such as environmental policies, health, education and diplomacy influence contemporary geopolitics and need to be taken into account. The framework of Meta-geopolitics proposed by Nayef Al-Rodhan, strives to account for this new and complex reality.^[15] It combines traditional and new dimensions of geopolitics to offer a multidimensional view of power and power relationships. The importance of geography is superseded by the combination of hard- and soft- power tools that states can employ to project power. Meta-geopolitics defines seven key dimensions of state power that include social and health issues, domestic politics, economics, environment, science and human potential, military and security issues, and international diplomacy.^[16]

The first capacity looks at the demographics, ethnic make-up, the degree of social peace and cohesion, and the population’s health within a state. The second capacity refers to a country’s domestic political situation. States that face internal political turmoil can become introverted and incapacitated when it comes to pursuing a strong foreign policy. The economic power is the third capacity of Meta-geopolitics and has significant geopolitical importance. Access to energy and other natural resources are a fundamental part of this capacity. The way a state deals with environmental issues refers to the fourth capacity of Meta-geopolitics and affects a state’s power both, inside and outside its borders. The human potential refers to the fifth dimension of the framework and represents a central measure of a state’s power. Education, a skilled, reliable work force, investments in scientific research and development are key indicators of this capacity. Traditionally, a state’s military power and its ability to deal with national security challenges have been used to gauge a state’s power on the international scene. Increases in military capability can change the relative power balance between states. The seventh and last capacity refers to a state’s influence on the diplomatic front. For example, a state’s membership in international organizations, its ideological leverage and credibility are fundamental indicators of this capacity. The Meta-geopolitics framework allows for the assessment of relative strengths and weaknesses as well as predictions about future trends. Furthermore, while this analytical grid is relevant for states it also applies to private and transnational entities, which are playing an increasingly important role in contemporary geopolitics.^[17]

See also[link]

• Astropolitics
• Balkanization
• Critical geopolitics
• Geopolitik
• Geojurisprudence
• Geostrategy
• Intermediate Region
• Lebensraum
• Natural gas and list of natural gas fields and Category:Natural gas pipelines
• Petroleum politics
• Political geography
• Realpolitik
• Space geostrategy
• Sphere of Influence
• Strategic depth
• Theopolitics
• Water politics

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Ankerl, Guy (2000). Global communication without universal civilization. INU societal research. Vol.1: Coexisting contemporary civilizations : Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western. Geneva: INU Press. ISBN 2-88155-004-5. 
• O'Loughlin, John / Heske, Henning. "From War to a Discipline for Peace". In: Kliot, N. and Waterman, S. (ed.): The Political Geography of Conflict and Peace. London: Belhaven Press, 1991
• Spang, Christian W.: “As a Factor within Japanese-German Rapprochement in the Inter-War Years?”, in: C. W. Spang, R.-H. Wippich (eds.), Japanese-German Relations, 1895–1945. War, Diplomacy and Public Opinion, London, 2006, pp. 139–157.
• Diamond, Jared, Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997)
• Amineh, Parvizi M. and Henk Houweling, Central Eurasia in Global Politics, (London, Leiden: Brill Academic Publishing. Introduction and Chapeter 11

External links[link]

• International Geopolitics Reporters Association (I.G.R.A.) International association of professionals specialized in geopolitics.
• European network of geopolitical thinking
• Window on Heartland Geopolitical blog focused on security and strategic issues in the post-Soviet space.

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since January 2010. It may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Tagged since February 2009.

George Friedman is an American political scientist and author. He is the founder, chief intelligence officer, financial overseer, and CEO of the private intelligence corporation Stratfor.^[1] He has authored several books, including The Next 100 Years, The Next Decade, America's Secret War, The Intelligence Edge, The Coming War With Japan and The Future of War.^[2]

Biography[link]

Friedman’s childhood was shaped directly by international conflict. He was born in Hungary to Holocaust survivors. His family fled Hungary when he was a child to escape the Communist regime, settling first in a camp for displaced persons in Austria and then immigrating to the United States, where he attended public schools in New York City, and was an early designer of computerized war games. Friedman describes his family’s story as “a very classic story of refugees making a new life in America." He received a B.A. at the City College of New York, where he majored in political science, and a Ph.D. in government at Cornell University.^[2]

Prior to joining the private sector, Friedman spent almost twenty years in academia, teaching political science at Dickinson College. During this time, he also regularly briefed senior commanders in the armed services as well as the Office of Net Assessments, SHAPE Technical Center, the U.S. Army War College, National Defense University and the RAND Corporation, on security and national defense matters.^{[citation needed]}

Friedman pursued political philosophy with his early work focusing on Marxism, as well as international conflict, including examination of the U.S.-Soviet relationship from a military perspective. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Friedman studied potential for a U.S.-Japan conflict and co-authored The Coming War with Japan in 1991. He is also the author or co-author of books examining topics as diverse as the Frankfurt School and warfare, including The Future of War, The next hundred years, The Intelligence Edge, and America’s Secret War.

In 1996, he founded STRATFOR, a private intelligence and forecasting company, and has served as the company's CEO and Chief Intelligence Officer.

Personal life[link]

Friedman is married to Meredith Friedman (née LeBard), has four children, and lives in Austin, Texas.

Books[link]

• The Political Philosophy of the Frankfurt School (1981). Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-1279-X.
• Coming War With Japan, with Meredith LeBard (1991). St Martins Press. Reprint edition, 1992, ISBN 0-312-07677-0.
• The Future of War: Power, Technology and American World Dominance in the Twenty-First Century with Meredith Friedman (1996). 1st ed., Crown Publishers, ISBN 0-517-70403-X. St. Martin's Griffin, 1998, ISBN 0-312-18100-0.
• The Intelligence Edge: How to Profit in the Information Age with Meredith Friedman, Colin Chapman, and John Baker (1997). Crown, 1st edition. ISBN 0-609-60075-3.
• America's Secret War: Inside the Hidden Worldwide Struggle Between the United States and Its Enemies (2004). Doubleday, 1st ed, ISBN 0-385-51245-7. Broadway, reprint edition (2005). ISBN 0-7679-1785-5.
• The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century (2009). Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-51705-X.
• The Next Decade: What the World Will Look Like (2010). ISBN 0-385-53294-6.

External links[link]

• Bio of Friedman at STRATFOR's website.
• Bio of Friedman at America's Secret War's website.
• Bio of Friedman at New Global Initiative's website.
• Friedman quotes at ThinkExist.com.
• The Iranian Election and the Revolution Test. George Friedman writes on Ahmadinejad's election and revolt against alleged fraud.
• Booknotes interview with Friedman and Meredith LeBard on The Coming War With Japan, June 9, 1991.

References[link]

Gwynne Dyer
Born	(1943-04-17) April 17, 1943 (age 69) St. John's, Newfoundland
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	journalist
Website
http://www.GwynneDyer.com

Gwynne Dyer, OC (born April 17, 1943) is a London-based independent Canadian journalist, syndicated columnist and military historian.

Dyer was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and joined the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve at the age of sixteen. While still in the naval reserve, he obtained a BA in History from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1963; an MA in Military History from Rice University, Houston, Texas, in 1966; and a PhD in Military and Middle Eastern History at King's College London in 1973. Dyer served in the Canadian, American, and British naval reserves. He was employed as a Senior Lecturer in War Studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, 1973-77. In 1973 he began writing articles for leading London newspapers on the Arab-Israeli conflict, and soon decided to abandon academic life for a full-time career in journalism. In 2010, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.^[1]

Circulation[link]

Dyer writes a column on international affairs which is published in over 175 papers in at least 45 countries.^[2] Some papers that use Dyer's column regularly include the Japan Times, The Courier (Ballarat), the Straits Times (Singapore), the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), the Bangkok Post, the Canberra Times, the New Zealand Herald, The Pioneer (New Delhi), DNA (Bombay), Dawn (Karachi), the Tehran Times, Arab News (Saudi Arabia), the Jordan Times, Monday Morning (Beirut), Egypt Today, the Jerusalem Post, Hurriyet Daily News (Istanbul), the Moscow Times, Telegraf (Kiev), Lidove Noviny (Prague), Adevarul (Bucharest), Helsingin Sanomat (Finland), Information (Copenhagen), NRC Handelsblad (Rotterdam), De Standaard (Brussels), Zeitpunkt (Switzerland), Internazionale (Rome), The New Vision (Uganda), The Star (Nairobi), Zimbabwe Independent, The Citizen (Johannesburg), the Cape Times, Le Droit (Ottawa), NOW (Toronto), La Presse (Montreal), Georgia Straight (Vancouver), Dawson Creek Daily News (Dawson Creek), Fast Forward Magazine (Calgary), the Winnipeg Free Press the Jamaica Daily Gleaner, the Trinidad Express, the Barbados Advocate, Buenos Aires Herald, and the Visayan Daily Star (Philippines).

In the United States, his column appears in the Cincinnati Post, Columbus Dispatch, Dayton Daily News, Hartford Courant, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Newsday, Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Raleigh News & Observer, Sacramento Bee, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Salt Lake Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, Toledo Blade, Winston-Salem Journal and about twenty other papers. Older articles are available online at the columnist's official website. His 1985 book War and its namesake television series have been aired on BBC and PBS.

Controversial discontinuations[link]

Dyer's column was discontinued in the Jerusalem Post in 1997 when it was bought by Conrad Black. Black subsequently bought the former Southam chain in Canada, which included most of the country's big-city English-language dailies, and had Dyer's column expelled from all of them as well. When the Asper family, owners of Canwest Global, took over ownership of the papers in 2002, they maintained the ban. This had the result that Dyer's column has since been unavailable in the more mainstream Canadian newspapers, and consequently completely unavailable in large parts of the country.^[3] Smaller media companies continue to publish the column, including alternatively owned newspapers such as Torstar's Hamilton Spectator, Edmonton's Vue Weekly, Vancouver's Georgia Straight, New Brunswick's Telegraph Journal and French paper l'Acadie Nouvelle, Sun Media papers such as the London Free Press and a few local publications of the regional Osprey Media and Black Press^[4] (not affiliated with Conrad Black), such as Kamloops This Week and the Red Deer Advocate, as well as the Winnipeg Free Press and Calgary's independent Fast Forward Weekly.

Dyer speculates that this is due to his opinions on the Arab-Israel conflict and both Black's and the Asper family's Likud Party sympathies. In 2005, Dyer released a book of his columns, titled With Every Mistake.^[3]

Works[link]

Books[link]

• War.(1985) ISBN 0-517-55615-4
• War: The Lethal Custom (2005) ISBN 0-7867-1538-3
• The Defence of Canada: In the Arms of the Empire (1990) ISBN 0-7710-2975-6
• Ignorant Armies: Sliding Into War in Iraq (2003) ISBN 0-7710-2977-2
• Future: Tense : The Coming World Order (2004) ISBN 0-7710-2978-0
• With Every Mistake (2005) ISBN 0-679-31402-4
• The Mess They Made: The Middle East After Iraq (2007) ISBN 0-7710-2980-2
• Climate Wars (2008) ISBN 978-0-307-35583-6
• Crawling from the Wreckage (2010) ISBN 978-0-307-35891-2

Documentaries[link]

• War (miniseries) (1983 7-part miniseries) 0 the third part of the series named "the Profession of Arms" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
• The Defence of Canada (1986)
• The Space Between (1986)
• Harder Than It Looks (1987)
• The Human Race (1994)

Radio series[link]

• Seven Faces of Communism (1978)
• Brazil (1979)
• The Catholic Counter-Revolution (1980)
• War (1981)
• The Gorbachev Revolution (1988–90)
• Millennium (1996)
• Climate Wars on CBC Radio Ideas (2008)(3-part documentary)

See also[link]

• List of newspaper columnists

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Gwynne Dyer at the Internet Movie Database
• Profile
• Dyer interviewed on Dan Carlin's Hardcore History Podcast.
• The Mess They Made, a YouTube clip of Dyer answering questions about the book.
• Pakistan: Obama’s Vietnam?
• Gwynne Dyer on "Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats" - video report by Democracy Now!
• A Response to Gwynne Dyer, "Ethiopia: Population, Famine and Fate, 1 September 2009"
• In Conversation: We Ain't Seen Nothing Yet: Gwynne Dyer, In Conversation with Robert S. Eshelman, The Brooklyn Rail

Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk at a book festival in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2008.
Born	(1946-07-12) 12 July 1946 (age 65) Maidstone, Kent, England
Education	Lancaster University (B.A., 1968) Trinity College, Dublin (Ph.D., 1985)
Occupation	Middle East correspondent for The Independent
Notable credit(s)	Jacob's Award, Amnesty International UK Press Awards, British Press Awards, International Journalist of the Year, "Reporter of the Year", David Watt prize, Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize
Website
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/fisk/

Robert Fisk (born 12 July 1946) is an English writer and journalist from Maidstone, Kent. As Middle East correspondent of The Independent, he has primarily been based in Beirut for more than 30 years.^[1] He has published a number of books and has reported on the United States's war in Afghanistan and its 2003 invasion of Iraq. Fisk holds more British and International Journalism awards than any other foreign correspondent.^[2]

Career[link]

The New York Times once described Robert Fisk as "probably the most famous foreign correspondent in Britain."^[3] He reported the Northern Ireland troubles in the 1970s, the Portuguese Revolution in 1974, the Lebanese Civil War, the Iranian revolution in 1979, the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the Iran–Iraq War, the Gulf War and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. A vernacular Arabic speaker,^[4] he is one of few Western journalists to have interviewed Osama bin Laden, and did so three times between 1994 and 1997.^[5][6] His awards include being voted International Journalist of the Year seven times.

Fisk has said that journalism must "challenge authority, all authority, especially so when governments and politicians take us to war." He has quoted with approval the Israeli journalist Amira Hass: "There is a misconception that journalists can be objective ... What journalism is really about is to monitor power and the centres of power."^[7] Speaking on "Lies, Misreporting, and Catastrophe in the Middle East," at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 22 September 2010, Fisk stated, "I think it is the duty of a foreign correspondent to be neutral and unbiased on the side of those who suffer, whoever they may be." ^[8]

He has written at length on how much of contemporary conflict has its origin, in his view, in lines drawn on maps: "After the allied victory of 1918, at the end of my father's war, the victors divided up the lands of their former enemies. In the space of just seventeen months, they created the borders of Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia and most of the Middle East. And I have spent my entire career—in Belfast and Sarajevo, in Beirut and Baghdad—watching the people within those borders burn."^[9]

Fisk is a pacifist and has never voted.^[10]

The blogosphere term fisking originates from various American conservative blogs, which have taken particular issue with Mr. Fisk, who holds a "very skeptical view of U.S. foreign policy", and his articles and reports. Many of these bloggers have responded by reprinting his dispatches on their blogs, adding their own paragraph-by-paragraph commentary, purportedly dissecting and debunking Fisk's facts and opinions.^[11] Irrespective of the success of their endeavour, the term "fisking" has come to denote the practice of "savaging an argument and scattering the tattered remnants to the four corners of the internet".^[12]

In a 2002 appearance at the Cambridge Union Society, actor John Malkovich when asked whom he would most like to "fight to the death", replied that he would "rather just shoot" journalist Robert Fisk and British MP George Galloway.^[13] Both Fisk and Galloway reacted with outrage.^[14][15]

Early career[link]

Fisk was educated at Yardley Court preparatory school,^[16] Sutton Valence School and at Lancaster University ^[17] and has a PhD in Political Science, from Trinity College, Dublin in 1983.^[18] The title of his doctoral thesis was "A condition of limited warfare: Éire’s neutrality and the relationship between Dublin, Belfast and London, 1939–1945".^[18] He worked on the Sunday Express diary column before a disagreement with the editor, John Junor, prompted a move to The Times.^[19] From 1972–75, the height of The Troubles, Fisk served as Belfast correspondent for The Times, before becoming its correspondent in Portugal covering the aftermath of the Carnation Revolution. He then was appointed Middle East correspondent (1976–1988). When a story of his was spiked (Iran Air Flight 655) after Rupert Murdoch's takeover, he moved to The Independent, with his first report published there on 28 April 1989.

Lebanon, and other conflicts[link]

Fisk has been living in Beirut since 1976,^[20] and was present in Beirut throughout the Lebanese civil war. He was one of the first journalists to visit the scene of the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon, as well as the Syrian Hama Massacre. His book on the Lebanese conflict, Pity the Nation, was first published in 1990. Fisk also reported on the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Kosovo war, the Algerian civil war, and the Iran-Iraq War. Fisk suffered partial but permanent hearing loss as a result of being close to Iraqi heavy artillery in the Shatt-al-Arab when covering the early stages of the Iran-Iraq conflict.^{[citation needed]}

Osama bin Laden[link]

Fisk is one of the few Western journalists to have interviewed Osama bin Laden—three times (all published by The Independent: 6 December 1993, 10 July 1996, and 22 March 1997). During one of Fisk's interviews with Bin Laden, Fisk noted an attempt by Bin Laden to convert him. Bin Laden said; "Mr Robert, one of our brothers had a dream. He dreamed ... that you were a spiritual person ... this means you are a true Muslim." Fisk replied; "Sheikh Osama, I am not a Muslim ... I am a journalist ... A journalist's task is to tell the truth." Bin Laden replied: "If you tell the truth, that means you are a good Muslim."^[21][22]

During the 1996 interview, Bin Laden accused the Saudi royal family of corruption. During the 1997 (and final) interview, Bin Laden said he sought God's help "to turn America into a shadow of itself".^[23]

11 September attacks[link]

Fisk condemned the 11 September 2001 attacks, describing them as a "hideous crime against humanity." He also denounced the Bush administration's response to the attacks, arguing that "a score of nations" were being identified and positioned as "haters of democracy" or "kernels of evil," and urged a more honest debate on U.S. policy in the Middle East. He argued that such a debate had hitherto been avoided "because, of course, to look too closely at the Middle East would raise disturbing questions about the region, about our Western policies in those tragic lands, and about America's relationship with Israel."^[24]

In August 2007 Fisk expressed personal doubts about the official historical record of the 11 September attacks. In an article for The Independent, he claimed that, while the Bush administration was incapable of successfully carrying out such attacks due to its organisational incompetence: "I am increasingly troubled at the inconsistencies in the official narrative of 9/11." He proceeded to raise his concerns about a lack of aircraft debris, the melting point of steel, the collapse of World Trade Center 7, misidentified suicide-hijackers, the authenticity of correspondence attributed by the CIA to Mohamed Atta, and other familiar questions that have circulated within the 9/11 Truth Movement. He added that he does not condone the "crazed 'research' of David Icke [...] I am talking about scientific issues".^[25] Fisk had earlier addressed similar concerns in a speech at Sydney University in 2006.^[26] During the speech, Fisk said: "Partly I think because of the culture of secrecy of the White House, never have we had a White House so secret as this one. Partly because of this culture, I think suspicions are growing in the United States, not just among Berkeley guys with flowers in their hair [...] But there are a lot of things we don’t know, a lot of things we’re not going to be told [...] perhaps the plane was hit by a missile, we still don’t know."^[27]

War in Afghanistan[link]

After the United States launched its attack on Afghanistan, Fisk was for a time transferred to Pakistan to provide coverage of that conflict. While reporting from there, he was attacked and beaten by a group of Afghan refugees fleeing heavy bombing by the United States Air Force. He was saved from this attack by another Afghan refugee. In his graphic account of his own beating, Fisk pardoned the attackers of responsibility and pointed out that their "brutality was entirely the product of others, of us—of we who had armed their struggle against the Russians and ignored their pain and laughed at their civil war and then armed and paid them again for the 'War for Civilisation' just a few miles away and then bombed their homes and ripped up their families and called them 'collateral damage.'"^[28]

Iraq[link]

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Fisk was stationed in Baghdad and filed many eyewitness reports. He has criticized other journalists based in Iraq for what he calls their "hotel journalism", literally reporting from one's hotel room without interviews or first hand experience of events.^[29] His opposition to the war brought criticism from both Irish Sunday Independent columnist and senator, Eoghan Harris,^[30] and The Guardian columnist, Simon Hoggart.^[31]

Fisk has criticised the American handling of the sectarian violence in post-invasion Iraq, and argued that the official narrative of sectarian conflict is not possible: "The real question I ask myself is: who are these people who are trying to provoke the civil war? Now the Americans will say it's Al Qaeda, it's the Sunni insurgents. It is the death squads. Many of the death squads work for the Ministry of Interior. Who runs the Ministry of Interior in Baghdad? Who pays the Ministry of the Interior? Who pays the militia men who make up the death squads? We do, the occupation authorities [...] We need to look at this story in a different light."^[32]

Books and other works[link]

Books[link]

Fisk has published a number of books. His 2005 work, The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East, with its criticism of Western and Israeli approaches to the Middle East, was well-received by critics and students of international affairs, and is perhaps his best-known work.

• The Point of No Return: The Strike which Broke the British in Ulster (1975). London: Times Books/Deutsch. ISBN 0-233-96682-X
• In Time of War: Ireland, Ulster and the Price of Neutrality, 1939–1945 (2001). London: Gill & Macmillan. ISBN 0-7171-2411-8 (1st ed. was 1983).
• Pity the Nation : Lebanon at War (3rd ed. 2001). London: Oxford University Press; xxi, 727 pages. ISBN 0-19-280130-9 (1st ed. was 1990).
• The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East (October 2005) London. Fourth Estate; xxvi, 1366 pages. ISBN 1-84115-007-X
• The Age of the Warrior: Selected Writings (2008) London, Fourth Estate ISBN 978-0-00-727073-6

Video documentary[link]

Fisk produced a three-part series titled From Beirut To Bosnia in 1993 which Fisk says was an attempt "to find out why an increasing number of Muslims had come to hate the West."^[33] Fisk says that the Discovery Channel did not show a repeat of the films, after initially showing them in full, due to a letter campaign launched by pro-Israel groups such as CAMERA.^[33][34]

Forgery misattributed to Robert Fisk[link]

• Saddam Hussein—From Birth to Martyrdom (2007). Egypt: Ibda; 272 pages.^[35]

Awards[link]

In 1991, Fisk won a Jacob's Award for his RTÉ Radio coverage of the first Gulf War.^[36] He received Amnesty International UK Press Awards in 1998 for his reports from Algeria and again in 2000 for his articles on the NATO air campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999. In 1999, Fisk won the Orwell Prize for journalism.^[37]

He has received the British Press Awards' International Journalist of the Year seven times, and twice won its "Reporter of the Year" award.^[38] In 2001, he was awarded the David Watt Prize for "outstanding contributions towards the clarification of political issues and the promotion of their greater understanding" for his investigation into the Armenian Genocide by the Turks in 1915.^[39] In 2002 he was the fourth recipient of the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism. More recently, Fisk was awarded the 2006 Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize along with $350,000.^[40]

He was made an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of St Andrews on 24 June 2004. The Political and Social Sciences department of Ghent University (Belgium) awarded Fisk an honorary doctorate on 24 March 2006. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the American University of Beirut in June 2006. Trinity College Dublin awarded him a second, honorary, Doctorate in July 2008.^[41]

Fisk gave the 2005 Edward Said Memorial lecture at Adelaide University.^[42]

In 2011, Fisk was awarded the International Prize at the Amalfi Coast Media Awards in Italy.^[43]

Fisk is also a recipient of the College Historical Society's "Gold Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Public Discourse".^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Robert Fisk on Shakespeare and war
• Man of War by Rachel Cooke of The Observer, 13 April 2008
• Journalism and 'the words of power': Robert Fisk address to the fifth Al Jazeera annual forum on 23 May

External links[link]

	England portal
	Biography portal

• Column archive at The Independent
• Robert Fisk at ZSpace
• Article archive at Journalisted
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Robert Fisk on Charlie Rose
• Robert Fisk at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Robert Fisk in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Robert Fisk on the Gap Between U.S. Rhetoric and Action in the Egyptian Uprising—video interview by Democracy Now!, 2011
• Interview with Robert Fisk in Lebanon - 16 May 2011 (The Student Journals)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Robert Fisk

Robert Gates
24th Chancellor of The College of William & Mary
Incumbent
Assumed office February 3, 2012
Preceded by	Sandra Day O'Connor
22nd United States Secretary of Defense
In office December 18, 2006 – July 1, 2011
President	George W. Bush Barack Obama
Deputy	Gordon England William Lynn
Preceded by	Donald Rumsfeld
Succeeded by	Leon Panetta
22nd President of Texas A&M University
In office August 1, 2002 – December 16, 2006
Preceded by	Ray M. Bowen
Succeeded by	Eddie J. Davis
15th Director of Central Intelligence
In office November 6, 1991 – January 20, 1993
President	George H. W. Bush
Deputy	Richard Kerr Bill Studeman
Preceded by	William Webster
Succeeded by	James Woolsey
Deputy National Security Advisor
In office March 20, 1989 – November 6, 1991
President	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	John Negroponte
Succeeded by	Jonathan Howe
16th Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
In office April 18, 1986 – March 20, 1989
President	Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	John McMahon
Succeeded by	Richard Kerr
Personal details
Born	Robert Michael Gates (1943-09-25) September 25, 1943 (age 68) Wichita, Kansas
Political party	Republican Party[1]
Spouse(s)	Becky Gates
Alma mater	College of William and Mary (B.A.) Indiana University (M.A.) Georgetown University (Ph.D.)
Signature
Military service
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1967–1969
Rank	8px Second Lieutenant

Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is the 24th Chancellor of the College of William and Mary^[2] and a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W. Bush as Director of Central Intelligence. Gates was also an officer in the United States Air Force and during the early part of his military career, he was recruited by the CIA.^[3][4] After leaving the CIA, Gates became president of Texas A&M University and was a member of several corporate boards. Gates also served as a member of the Iraq Study Group, the bipartisan commission co-chaired by James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton, that has studied the Iraq War. He was also the first pick to serve as the first Director of National Intelligence (DNI), but he declined the appointment in order to remain President of Texas A&M University.^[5]

Gates accepted the nomination for Secretary of Defense on November 8, 2006, replacing Donald Rumsfeld. He was confirmed with bipartisan support.^[6] In a 2007 profile written by former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, Time named Gates one of the year's most influential people.^[6] In 2008, Gates was named one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report.^[7] He continued to serve as Secretary of Defense in President Barack Obama's administration.^[8] Gates announced in August 2010 that he planned to retire in 2011, and President Barack Obama announced in April 2011 that he would be replaced by CIA director Leon Panetta.^[9][10] “He’ll be remembered for making us aware of the danger of over-reliance on military intervention as an instrument of American foreign policy,” said former Senator David L. Boren.^[11] Gates was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, by President Obama during his retirement ceremony.^[12] On September 6, 2011, Gates was named to be 24th Chancellor of The College of William and Mary; he succeeded Sandra Day O'Connor on February 3, 2012.^[13]

Early life and education[link]

Gates was born in Wichita, Kansas, the son of Isabel V. (née Goss) and Melville A. "Mel" Gates.^[14] Gates attained the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the BSA as an adult.^[15][16] He graduated from Wichita High School East in 1961.^[17] Gates is also a Vigil Honor member within the Order of the Arrow, Scouting's National Honor Society.

Gates then received a scholarship to attend the College of William and Mary, graduating in 1965 with a B.A. in history. At William & Mary, Gates was an active member and president of the Alpha Phi Omega (national service fraternity) chapter and the Young Republicans; he was also the business manager for the William and Mary Review, a literary and art magazine.^[13] At his William & Mary graduation ceremony, Gates received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award naming him the graduate who "has made the greatest contribution to his fellow man".^[13]

Gates then received an M.A. in history from Indiana University in 1966. He completed his Ph.D. in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University in 1974. The title of his Georgetown doctoral dissertation is "Soviet Sinology: An Untapped Source for Kremlin Views and Disputes Relating to Contemporary Events in China" and is available from University Microfilms International as document number 7421652. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from both William & Mary (1998) and the University of Oklahoma (2011).^{[citation needed]}

He married his wife Becky on January 7, 1967.^[18] They have two children.

Intelligence career[link]

Positions[link]

While at Indiana University, Gates was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency and joined in 1966.^[19] On January 4, 1967, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force after attending Officer Training School under CIA sponsorship.^[18][19] From 1967 to 1969, he was assigned to the Strategic Air Command as an intelligence officer, which included a year at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, where he delivered intelligence briefings to Intercontinental Ballistic Missile crews.^[20] After fulfilling his military obligation, he rejoined the CIA as an intelligence analyst.^[21]

Gates left the CIA in 1974 to serve on the staff of the National Security Council. He returned to the CIA in late 1979, serving briefly as the director of the Strategic Evaluation Center, Office of Strategic Research. He was named the Director of the DCI/DDCI Executive Staff in 1981, Deputy Director for Intelligence in 1982, and Deputy Director of Central Intelligence from April 18, 1986 to March 20, 1989.

Director of Central Intelligence[link]

Gates while Director of Central Intelligence.

Gates was Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from March until August 1989, and was Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser from August 1989 until November 1991.

Gates was nominated to become the Director of Central Intelligence (head of the CIA) in early 1987. He withdrew his name after it became clear the Senate would reject the nomination due to controversy about his role in the Iran-Contra affair.

Gates was nominated, for the second time, for the position of Director of Central Intelligence by President George H. W. Bush on May 14, 1991, confirmed by the Senate on November 5, and sworn in on November 6, becoming the only career officer in the CIA's history (as of 2005) to rise from entry-level employee to Director.

During a Senate committee hearing on his nomination, former division chief Melvin A. Goodman testified that the agency was the most corrupt and slanted during the tenure of William Casey with Gates serving as Deputy. According to Goodman, Gates was part of an agency leadership that proliferated false information and ignored 'reality'. National Intelligence Council chairman Harold P. Ford testified that during his tenure, Gates had transgressed professional boundaries.^[22]

Deputy Directors during his tenure were Richard J. Kerr (from November 6, 1991 until March 2, 1992) and Adm. William O. Studeman (from April 9, 1992 through the remainder of Gates' tenure). He served until 1993.

Level of involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal[link]

Because of his senior status in the CIA, Gates was close to many figures who played significant roles in the Iran-Contra Affair and was in a position to have known of their activities. In 1984, as deputy director of CIA, Gates advocated that the U.S. initiate a bombing campaign against Nicaragua and that the U.S. do everything in its power short of direct military invasion of the country to remove the Sandinista government.^[23] The evidence developed by Independent Counsel did not warrant indictment of Gates for his Iran-Contra activities or his responses to official inquiries.

Gates was an early subject of Independent Counsel's investigation, but the investigation of Gates intensified in the spring of 1991 as part of a larger inquiry into the Iran/contra activities of CIA officials. This investigation received an additional impetus in May 1991, when President George H.W. Bush nominated Gates to be Director of Central Intelligence (DCI). The chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) requested, in a letter to the Independent Counsel on May 15, 1991, any information that would "significantly bear on the fitness" of Gates for the CIA post.

Gates consistently testified that he first heard on October 1, 1986, from Charles E. Allen, the national intelligence officer who was closest to the Iran initiative, that proceeds from the Iran arms sales may have been diverted to support the Contras. Other evidence proves, however, that Gates received a report on the diversion during the summer of 1986 from DDI Richard Kerr.^[24] The issue was whether the Independent Counsel could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Gates was deliberately not telling the truth when he later claimed not to have remembered any reference to the diversion before meeting with Allen in October.

Grand jury secrecy rules hampered Independent Counsel's response. Nevertheless, in order to answer questions about Gates' prior testimony, Independent Counsel accelerated his investigation of Gates in the summer of 1991. This investigation was substantially completed by September 3, 1991, at which time Independent Counsel determined that Gates' Iran-Contra activities and testimony did not warrant prosecution.

Independent Counsel made this decision subject to developments that could have warranted reopening his inquiry, including testimony by Clair E. George, the CIA's former deputy director for operations. At the time Independent Counsel reached this decision, the possibility remained that George could have provided information warranting reconsideration of Gates' status in the investigation. George refused to cooperate with Independent Counsel and was indicted on September 19, 1991. George subpoenaed Gates to testify as a defense witness at George's first trial in the summer of 1994, but Gates was never called.

The final report of the Independent Counsel for Iran-Contra Scandal, issued on August 4, 1993, said that Gates "was close to many figures who played significant roles in the Iran/contra affair and was in a position to have known of their activities. The evidence developed by Independent Counsel did not warrant indictment..."^[25]

Career after leaving the CIA[link]

1993–1999[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2012)

After retiring from the CIA in 1993, Gates worked as an academic and lecturer. He evaluated student theses for the International Studies Program of the University of Washington. He lectured at Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Indiana, Louisiana State, Oklahoma, and the College of William and Mary. Gates served as a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Oklahoma International Programs Center and a trustee of the endowment fund for the College of William and Mary, his alma mater, which in 1998 conferred upon him honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

In 1996, Gates' autobiography, From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War, was published. Gates has also written numerous articles on government and foreign policy and has been a frequent contributor to the op-ed page of The New York Times.^[26]

Gates at Texas A&M

Texas A&M[link]

Gates was the interim Dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University from 1999 to 2001. On August 1, 2002, he became the 22nd President of Texas A&M. As the university president, Gates made significant progress in four key areas of the university's "Vision 2020" plan, a plan to become one of the top 10 public universities by the year 2020. The four key areas include improving student diversity, increasing the size of the faculty, building new academic facilities, and enriching the undergraduate and graduate education experience.^[27] During his tenure, Gates encouraged the addition of 440 new faculty positions and a $300 million campus construction program, and saw increases in minority enrollment. On February 2, 2007, Gates was conferred the title of President Emeritus by unanimous vote of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. Gates and his wife Becky received honorary doctoral degrees from Texas A&M on August 10, 2007.^[28]

Gates returned to Texas A&M on April 21, 2009, as the speaker for the annual Aggie Muster ceremony. He is one of only 6 speakers not to be a graduate of Texas A&M University since Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke in 1946.^[29] In his affiliation with A&M, Gates has served on the National Security Higher Education Advisory Board.^[30]

Corporate boards[link]

Gates has been a member of the board of trustees of Fidelity Investments, and on the board of directors of NACCO Industries, Inc., Brinker International, Inc., Parker Drilling Company, Science Applications International Corporation, and VoteHere, a technology company which sought to provide cryptography and computer software security for the electronic election industry.^[31] Following his nomination, a White House spokeswoman said that Gates planned to sell all the stock he owns in individual companies and sever all ties with them if confirmed by the Senate.^[32]

Public service[link]

Gates is a former president of the National Eagle Scout Association.^[33]

In January 2004, Gates co-chaired a Council on Foreign Relations task force on U.S. relations towards Iran. Among the task force's primary recommendation was to directly engage Iran on a diplomatic level regarding Iranian nuclear technology. Key points included a negotiated position that would allow Iran to develop its nuclear program in exchange for a commitment from Iran to use the program only for peaceful means.^[34]

At the time of his nomination by President George W. Bush to the position of Secretary of Defense, Gates was also a member of the Iraq Study Group, also called the Baker Commission, which was expected to issue its report in November 2006, following the mid-term election on November 7. He was replaced by former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger.

Declined appointment as Director of National Intelligence[link]

In February 2005, Gates wrote in a message posted on his school's website that "there seems to be a growing number of rumors in the media and around campus that I am leaving Texas A&M to become the new director of national intelligence in Washington, D.C."^{[cite this quote]} The message said that "To put the rumors to rest, I was indeed asked to take the position, wrestled with perhaps the most difficult — and close — decision of my life, and last week declined the position."^{[cite this quote]}

Gates committed to remain as President of Texas A&M University through the summer of 2008; President George W. Bush offered the position of United States Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to John Negroponte, who accepted.^[35]

Gates said in a 2005 discussion with the university's Academy for Future International Leaders that he had tentatively decided to accept the DNI position out of a sense of duty and had written an email that would be sent to students during the press conference to announce his decision, explaining that he was leaving to serve the U.S. once again. Gates, however, took the weekend to consider what his final decision should be, and ultimately decided that he was unwilling to return to Washington, D.C., in any capacity simply because he "had nothing to look forward to in D.C. and plenty to look forward to at A&M".^[36]

Appointment as 24th Chancellor at the College of William and Mary[link]

On September 6, 2011 it was announced that Gates accepted the position of Chancellor at the College of William and Mary, succeeding Sandra Day O'Connor. He took the office of the Chancellor on February 3, 2012.

Secretary of Defense[link]

Bush Administration[link]

Gates being sworn in as Defense Secretary on December 18, 2006.

On November 8, 2006, after the 2006 midterm election, President George W. Bush announced his intent to nominate Gates to succeed the resigning Donald Rumsfeld as U.S. Secretary of Defense.^[37][38]

Gates was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate Armed Services Committee on December 5, 2006. During his confirmation hearing on December 5, 2006, Gates replied to a question that in his opinion the United States was neither winning nor losing the war in Iraq.^[39] The next day, Gates was confirmed by the full Senate by a margin of 95-2, with Republican Senators Rick Santorum and Jim Bunning casting the two dissenting votes and senators Elizabeth Dole, Evan Bayh, and Joe Biden not voting.^[40] On December 18, 2006, Gates was sworn in as Secretary of Defense by White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten at a private White House ceremony and then by Vice President Dick Cheney at the Pentagon.^[41]

Under the Bush administration, Gates directed the war in Iraq's troop surge, a marked change in tactics from his predecessor. With violence on the decline in Iraq, in 2008, Gates also began the troop withdrawal of Iraq, a policy continued into the Obama administration.

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates gives a gig 'em with a group of Aggie Marines at Camp Fallujah, Iraq

Walter Reed Medical Center scandal[link]

Several months after his appointment, The Washington Post published a series of articles beginning February 18, 2007 that brought to the spotlight the Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal.^[42] As a result of the fallout from the incident, Gates announced the removal of Secretary of the Army Francis J. Harvey, and later, he approved the removal of Army Surgeon General Kevin C. Kiley.^[43]

Controversy over Joint Chiefs[link]

On June 8, 2007, Gates announced that he would not recommend the renomination of Peter Pace, the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, due to anticipated difficulties with the confirmation process. Instead, Gates recommended Mike Mullen, the Chief of Naval Operations at the time, to fill the position. Gates stated: "I am no stranger to contentious confirmations, and I do not shrink from them. However, I have decided that at this moment in our history, the nation, our men and women in uniform, and General Pace himself would not be well-served by a divisive ordeal in selecting the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff." Gates referred to Pace as a friend and praised his service as a Marine.^[44]

Misshipments of nuclear weapons[link]

On June 5, 2008, in response to the findings on Air Force misshipments of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons components, Gates announced the resignations of Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and Air Force Chief of Staff Michael Moseley.^[45]

Obama Administration[link]

Gates with Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak at the Pentagon in 2009.

On December 1, 2008, President-elect Obama announced that Robert Gates would remain in his position as Secretary of Defense during his administration,^[8] reportedly for at least the first year of Obama's presidency.^[46] Gates was the fourteenth Cabinet member in history to serve under two Presidents of different parties, and the first to do so as Secretary of Defense. One of the first priorities under President Barack Obama's administration for Gates was a review of U.S. policy and strategy in Afghanistan.^[47] Gates, sixth in the presidential line of succession, was selected as designated survivor during Obama's inauguration.^[48] On March 1, 2009, he told David Gregory on Meet the Press that he would not commit to how long he would serve as Secretary of Defense but implied that he would not serve the entire first term.^[49]

While Gates continued the troop withdrawals in Iraq, which already had begun in the Bush administration, he also implemented a rapid, limited surge of troops in Afghanistan in 2009.^[50] Robert Gates removed General David D. McKiernan from command in Afghanistan on May 6, 2009^[51][52] and replaced him with General Stanley A. McChrystal. The Washington Post called it "a rare decision to remove a wartime commander". The Washington Post described the replacement as one of several replacements of Generals who represented the "traditional Army" with Generals "who have pressed for the use of counter-insurgency tactics".^[51]

In December 2009 Gates visited Afghanistan following President Barack Obama's announcement of the deployment of 30,000 additional personnel against the Taliban insurgency.^[53]

Gates with Afghan president Hamid Karzai in March 2011

Time magazine notes that Gates and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have "forged a formidable partnership", speaking frequently, "comparing notes before they go to the White House", meeting with each other weekly and having lunch once a month at either the Pentagon or the State Department.^[54]

In a March 2010 speech to a NATO conference in Washington, Secretary Gates said that "The demilitarization of Europe — where large swaths of the general public and political class are averse to military force and the risks that go with it — has gone from a blessing in the 20th century to an impediment to achieving real security and lasting peace in the 21st".^[55]

Gates announced in February 2010 that the department would lift its ban on women serving on submarines.^[56] Gates is also preparing the armed forces for the repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy. When implemented, homosexuals will be able to serve in the military openly.^[57] In service of that goal, he announced in late March 2010 the approval of new regulations that would make it more difficult to kick gays out of the military. Gates called the guideline changes, which went into effect immediately, a matter of "common sense and common decency" that would be "an important improvement" allowing the Pentagon to apply current law in "a fairer and more appropriate" manner, until Congress repeals the law commonly known as "don’t ask, don't tell." The Pentagon's legal counsel, Jeh Johnson, said the new regulations are by no means a moratorium on the current law and stressed that cases would move forward under the new standards.^[58]

Gates sitting with Obama, Biden, and the U.S. national security team gathered in the Situation Room to monitor the progress of Operation Neptune Spear.

Gates was photographed in the White House Situation Room photograph taken on May 1, 2011 by Pete Souza.

In August 2010, speaking to Foreign Policy magazine Secretary Gates said that he would remain as Secretary of Defense until 2011 and then retire. "I think that it would be a mistake to wait until January 2012," he said. "This is not the kind of job you want to fill in the spring of an election year."^[59][60]

In his last speech in June 2011 ^[61] before NATO, Gates again stated that other NATO members must do more as the United States tackles its budget deficit. He said bluntly that “In the past, I’ve worried openly about NATO turning into a two-tiered alliance: Between members who specialize in ’soft’ humanitarian, development, peacekeeping and talking tasks, and those conducting the ‘hard’ combat missions. Between those willing and able to pay the price and bear the burdens of alliance commitments, and those who enjoy the benefits of NATO membership – be they security guarantees or headquarters billets – but don’t want to share the risks and the costs. This is no longer a hypothetical worry. We are there today. And it is unacceptable. The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the U.S. Congress – and in the American body politic writ large – to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense. Nations apparently willing and eager for American taxpayers to assume the growing security burden left by reductions in European defense budgets. Indeed, if current trends in the decline of European defense capabilities are not halted and reversed, future U.S. political leaders – those for whom the Cold War was not the formative experience that it was for me – may not consider the return on America’s investment in NATO worth the cost.”

Gates officially retired as Secretary of Defense on July 1, 2011 and was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, by President Obama during his retirement ceremony.^[12]

Fiscal restraint[link]

Gates' tenure with the Obama administration has included a huge shift in military spending. In April 2009, Gates proposed a large shift in budget priorities in the U.S. Department of Defense 2010 budget. The budget cuts many programs geared toward conventional warfare such as the end of new orders of the F-22 Raptor and further development of Future Combat Systems manned vehicles, but increases funding for programs like the special forces.^[62] Gates called this the "nation's first truly 21st century defense budget."^[63] In late April 2010, he suggested the Navy cease funding development of a new multibillion-dollar ballistic missile submarine program on the grounds of cost and relevancy.^[64] He has suggested the hundreds of billions of dollars would be better spent on a new generation of vessels tailored to the threats and tactics more likely to be faced, noting, "Mark my words, the Navy and Marine Corps must be willing to re-examine and question basic assumptions in light of evolving technologies, new threats and budget realities."^[65] In a speech made on May 8, 2010, Gates stated that he would make politically unpopular cuts to the Pentagon bureaucracy in his future budgets.^[66][67]

"The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, opened a gusher of defense spending that nearly doubled the base budget over the last decade. . . Military spending on things large and small can and should expect closer, harsher scrutiny. The gusher has been turned off, and will stay off for a good period of time."^[66][67]

It was announced in August 2010 that Gates is trying to find $100 billion in Defense savings over the next five years in order to instill a “culture of savings and restraint” in the military. Secretary Gates said that “It is important that we not repeat the mistakes of the past, where tough economic times or the winding down of a military campaign leads to steep and unwise reductions in defense,” Gates said "As a matter of principle and political reality, the Department of Defense cannot expect America's elected representatives to approve budget increases each year unless we are doing a good job, indeed everything possible, to make every dollar count."^[68] These cuts include the closing of Joint Forces Command, fifty general and admirals, and the removal of 150 senior civilian positions.

NATO comments[link]

On January 16, 2008, Gates was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying NATO forces in southern Afghanistan do not know how to properly combat a guerrilla insurgency and that could be contributing to rising violence in the country.^[69] The Netherlands^[70] and United Kingdom^[71] protested.

In a June 10, 2011 speech in Brussels, The New York Times reported that "Mr. Gates slammed NATO nations for failing to meet their commitments in Afghanistan — or for imposing sweeping restrictions on those forces they do send — which he said hobbled the mission. ... Perhaps most significantly, Mr. Gates issued a dire warning that the United States, exhausted by a decade of war and dreading its own mounting budget deficits, simply may not see NATO as worth supporting any longer."^[72]

Frustration with Israeli government[link]

Shortly after his retirement from his tenure as Defense Secretary in Summer 2011, during a meeting of the National Security Council Principals Committee, Gates highlighted many of the measures taken by the U.S. to advance Israel’s security during the Obama Administration, including providing access to state of the art weaponry, assisting with the development of missile-defense systems, and sharing high-level intelligence, before expressing his view that the U.S. has received nothing in return from the Israeli government. Gates cited in particular Israel's failure to advance the peace process as requested by the Obama Administration. According to senior U.S. administration sources, other officials present offered no rebuttal to Gates' analysis. This was not the first time Gates publicly expressed frustration with the Netanyahu government, to which he had worked hard to provide wide-scale and deep military cooperation.^[73]

Criticism[link]

Gates responds to a question during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on December 5, 2006

As deputy director and director of America's leading intelligence agency for many years, Gates and his CIA staff have been faulted for failing to accurately gauge the decline and disintegration of the Soviet Union. More particularly, Gates has been criticized for allegedly concocting evidence to show that the Soviet Union was stronger than it actually was.^[74] Also, according to Newsweek, Gates, as deputy director of CIA, allegedly vouched for the comprehensiveness of a CIA study presented to the Senate and President Reagan alleging that the Soviet Union played a role in the 1981 shooting of Pope John Paul II. A CIA internal review later denounced the report as being skewed,^[74] but that Gates did not try to influence the report's conclusions.^[75]

The Likud party of Israel responded to Gate's description of Benjamin Netanyahu as a danger to Israel's future by claiming that most Israelis support the prime minister.^[76]

Awards and decorations[link]

Gates, right, escorts Romanian Minister of Defense Teodor Meleşcanu through an honor cordon into the Pentagon September 24, 2008, to talk about bilateral defense issues.

Gates' awards and decorations include:

Government awards

• Presidential Medal of Freedom^[77]
• Presidential Citizens Medal
• National Security Medal
• National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal (2 awards)
• Distinguished Intelligence Medal (3 awards)

Other awards

• Eagle Scout
• Distinguished Eagle Scout Award
• Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from College of William and Mary
• Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Indiana University
• Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from The University of Oklahoma
• Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Yale University
• Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Notre Dame^[78]
• College of William and Mary - Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award
• College of William and Mary Alumni Association - Alumni Medallion
• Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor (First and only Non-Corps Honoree) - Texas A&M University
• George Bush Award (2007) - George Bush Presidential Library Foundation
• MTV University 2010 Man of the Year^[79][80]
• Foreign Policy's list of top global thinkers for "being America's last bipartisan figure"^[81]
• Sylvanus Thayer Award (United States Military Academy)^[82]

Notes[link]