Gates: "No Expert."

[Sparkly]

"American patience is limited, and obviously if the Iraqis fail to maintain their commitments we'll have to revisit our strategy," said Gates.

At one point Gates, just three weeks on the job, told lawmakers, "I would confess I'm no expert on Iraq." Later, asked about reaching the right balance between American and Iraqi forces, he told the panel he was "no expert on military matters."

Committee members pressed Gates, who replaced Donald H. Rumsfeld at the Pentagon, on an exit strategy for the U.S.

"At the outset of the strategy, it's a mistake to talk about an exit strategy," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070112/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq

You'd think an exit strategy would be important to the mission, but then again, he's no expert, so...

[AtomicKitten]

1. aarrgggh!!!

[YDogg]

2. great. an *admitted* incompetent

[muntrv]

3. Bobby, you're doing a helluva job!

[Imagevision]

4. Gates stated, 92,000 troops will be needed in Iraq over the next -->5 years!!!

[NastyRiffraff]

5. WTF???!! What's he doing as SecDef?

Oh, yeah, I forgot. Incompetence is a job requirement in this administration. Silly old me.

[Sparkly]

6. Exactly! nt

[gratuitous]

7. I saw that clip on the news

And the first words out of my mouth were "Then why are we talking to you? Get me someone from your office who knows what he or she is doing, please."

Secretary of Defense is not a learn on the job position, as far as I'm concerned. Why was this garbanzo confirmed? Oh yeah, one last little gift from the do-nothing Senate of Dr. Frist and his Republican cohort.