Politics

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Criticizes Obama in New Book

Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War

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WASHINGTON –  Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in his upcoming memoir, has harsh words for President Obama's leadership style and commitment to the Afghanistan war, accusing the president of losing faith in his own strategy.

"For him, it's all about getting out," he wrote.

The tone of Gates' book is a break from Washington decorum, in which former Cabinet members rarely level tough judgments against sitting presidents.

Gates writes that by early 2010 he had concluded the president "doesn't believe in his own strategy, and doesn't consider the war to be his."