Written by AFP
Portion on Afghanistan
Date: Thursday, June 23, 2011
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Q: OK, so, if you don't mind, we'd like to start on Afghanistan. And we'd like you, if you can, to describe your role in the decision and if you find yourself in the position to argue against a bigger drawdown, or do you find that you are comfortable with the process and the decision?
SEC. GATES: First of all, I am comfortable with both the process and the decision. It was relatively abbreviated. There were maybe three meetings on it including the president. There was -- a wide range of options were discussed.
General Petraeus presented a wide range of options. And the merits and advantages and disadvantages of each of them were considered, and in the larger framework not only of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan, but also political sustainability here at home.
Q: And was the range of options that General Petraeus presented, did it heavily adjust in the discussions, or did that always form the basis or the premise?
Read more: AFP Interview with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates










