Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War

Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War est le récit de Robert M. Gates, ancien secrétaire à la Défense américain. Ce livre revient sur ses années au Pentagone, sous les présidents George W. Bush et Barack Obama, pendant les guerres en Irak et en Afghanistan.

État et détails de cet exemplaire

From the former secretary of defense, a strikingly candid, vividly written account of his experience serving Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Before Robert M. Gates received a call from the White House in 2006, he thought he’d left Washington politics behind: after working for six presidents in both the CIA and the National Security Council, he was happy in his role as president of Texas A&M University. But when he was asked to help a nation mired in two wars and to aid the troops doing the fighting, he answered what he felt was the call of duty. Now, in this unsparing memoir, meticulously fair in its assessments, he takes us behind the scenes of his nearly five years as a secretary at war: the battles with Congress, the two presidents he served, the military itself, and the vast Pentagon bureaucracy; his efforts to help Bush turn the tide in Iraq; his role as a guiding, and often dissenting, voice for Obama; the ardent devotion to and love for American soldiers—his “heroes”—he developed on the job.

In relating his personal journey as secretary, Gates draws us into the innermost sanctums of government and military power during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, illuminating iconic figures, vital negotiations, and critical situations in revealing, intimate detail. Offering unvarnished appraisals of Dick Cheney, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Presidents Bush and Obama among other key players, Gates exposes the full spectrum of behind-closed-doors politicking within both the Bush and Obama administrations.

He discusses the great controversies of his tenure—surges in both Iraq and Afghanistan,  how to deal with Iran and Syria, “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” Guantánamo Bay, WikiLeaks—as they played out behind the television cameras. He brings to life the Situation Room during the Bin Laden raid. And, searingly, he shows how congressional debate and action or inaction on everything from equipment budgeting to troop withdrawals was often motivated, to his increasing despair and anger, more by party politics and media impact than by members’ desires to protect our soldiers and ensure their success.

However embroiled he became in the trials of Washington, Gates makes clear that his heart was always in the most important theater of his tenure as secretary: the front lines. We journey with him to both war zones as he meets with active-duty troops and their commanders, awed by their courage, and also witness him greet coffin after flag-draped coffin returned to U.S. soil, heartbreakingly aware that he signed every deployment order. In frank and poignant vignettes, Gates conveys the human cost of war, and his admiration for those brave enough to undertake it when necessary.
Duty tells a powerful and deeply personal story that allows us an unprecedented look at

Résumé de Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War

Dans ce récit à la fois franc et détaillé, Robert M. Gates raconte près de cinq années passées à la tête du Pentagone, entre 2006 et 2011. Appelé par la Maison-Blanche alors qu'il pensait avoir quitté la vie politique de Washington et qu'il présidait l'université Texas A&M, il décrit les batailles menées avec le Congrès, l'administration militaire et la lourde bureaucratie du Pentagone. Il revient sur ses efforts pour aider George W. Bush à infléchir la situation en Irak, puis sur son rôle de conseiller, parfois dissident, auprès de Barack Obama. L'auteur livre aussi ses appréciations sur Dick Cheney, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton et les deux présidents, ainsi que son attachement profond aux soldats américains.

À propos de Robert M. Gates

Robert M. Gates est un responsable politique et universitaire américain. Il a dirigé la CIA entre 1991 et 1993, après avoir servi six présidents au sein de la CIA et du Conseil de sécurité nationale. Président de l'université Texas A&M de 2002 à 2006, il devient secrétaire à la Défense en 2006, poste qu'il occupe jusqu'en 2011 sous George W. Bush puis Barack Obama.

Tous les livres de Robert M. Gates

بطاقة الكتاب

• Titre : Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War
• Auteur : Robert M. Gates
• Éditeur : Knopf
• Catégorie : Mémoires, témoignages & journaux intimes
• Langue : Anglais

Acheter Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War d'occasion en Tunisie

Vous cherchez Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War ? Cet exemplaire d'occasion est disponible sur Ktebi Ktebek, la première marketplace circulaire du livre de seconde main en Tunisie. Commandez-le en ligne et faites-vous livrer partout en Tunisie. Acheter d'occasion, c'est donner une seconde vie à un livre tout en lisant à petit prix. Découvrez d'autres livres dans la catégorie Mémoires, témoignages & journaux intimes.