Robert Gates, former President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Defense, slammed politicians’ handling of classified information during an interview over the weekend where he also took a shot at President Joe Biden’s handling of the war in Ukraine.
Gates made the remarks during an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press”Chuck Todd, host of the show, as they discuss current political issues.
When asked what Biden should be doing differently in Ukraine, Gates said that the things that the administration is currently doing — shipping tanks and other critical military hardware to Ukraine — should’ve been done months ago.
“A lot of this could’ve been done sooner,” Gates said. “And, you know, they’re talking about it potentially being six months, a year, or more before the Abrams tanks get there. I think the key thing about the Abrams tank decision was that it unlocked Germans being able to provide.”
Gates, when asked about the recent leaks of classified documents that have beset Trump, Biden and ex-Vice President Mike Pence said the issue is the negligence of the individuals handling them.
“You have a legacy, I think, in Washington of sort of being a guy that sort of fixes sort of dumb problems. Meaning Like stuff — you’re like, “Why isn’t this fixed?” Todd continued. “So how would you [fix] this classified document situation that our politics finds itself in, is this something that the bureaucracy should fix? Or is there something more nefarious?”
“Well, I think – I think it’s about people being more responsible,”Gates replied. “I think there’s an element of carelessness. In some cases there may be intent to take the documents. I think maybe we ought to look at the way transitions take place, so that there’s a more orderly process for these classified documents.”
Todd pointed out that the Pentagon wasn’t a “free country”. “orderly when it comes to classified documents,”Gates claimed that none of the classified material ever left the building.
Gates previously took aim at Biden for his record on foreign policy, which many critics claim is terrible.
Gates had warned Biden in 2019, back when he was “wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”Gates cited several instances in 2021 that Biden had previously criticized for their foreign policy positions.
Gates said that Biden’s disastrous pullout from Afghanistan made him physically sick to watch because it did not have to be as bad as it was.
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