Resumo de Gates Says U.s. Not Winning War In Iraq - William Branigin and Debbi Wilgoren

Robert M. Gates, President Bush's nominee to be the next secretary ofdefense, told a Senate confirmation hearing today that all options are on thetable in dealing with the situation in Iraq, and he said he does not believethat U.S.forces currently are winning the war there.Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gates said in hisopening remarks that he is "open to a wide range of ideas andproposals" in Iraq,and he pledged to consult urgently with military leaders, combatant commandersin the field and members of Congress, among others, if confirmed.He warned that the war in Iraq risks provoking a regionalconflagration unless a new strategy can arrest the nation's slide toward chaos.He called the status quo there unacceptable and said Iraq would be his highest priorityAsked by Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), the rankingDemocrat on the committee, whether "you believe we're currently winning inIraq,"Gates answered, "No, sir." He later repeated that assessment whenasked the same question by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).Gates's view contradicted the appraisal publicly stated by Bush in anOct. 25 news conference, when he said in response to a question,"Absolutely, we're winning" in Iraq. Bush added then, "As amatter of fact, my view is the only way we lose in Iraq is if we leave before the jobis done."Gates, 63, a former CIA director and national security adviser whospent 26 years in the intelligence community, was nominated by Bush to replaceDefense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld a day after the Nov. 7 midterm elections,which handed control of the House and Senate to the Democrats.What we are now doing is not satisfactory Gates told the outgoingcommittee chairman, Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.).Noting that Bush wants someone with "fresh eyes" to assessthe situation in Iraq, the nominee said, In my view, all options are on thetable, in terms of how we address this problem in Iraq, in terms of how we canbe more successful and how we can, at some point, begin to draw down our forces.He later said the options he regards as on the table include onerecently listed in a memo by Rumsfeld: beginning modest U.S.withdrawals so that Iraqi leaders know they have to "pull up theirsocks" and take more responsibility for their country.While he is open to new ideas, Gates said in his opening statement, hefeels strongly that developments in Iraqwill shape the future of the entire Middle East,possibly with dire consequences.Our course over the next year or two will determine whether the Americanand Iraqi people and the next president of the United States will face a slowlyand steadily improving situation in Iraq and in the region or will face thevery real risk of a regional conflagration, he said.Gates said his greatest worry about Iraq is that if U.S. forces leavethe country in chaos, a variety of regional powers will become involved, and wewill have a regional conflict on our hands.

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