US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (L) greets the People's Republic of China Central Military Commission Vice Chairman General Xu Caihou (R) at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, October 27, 2009. Xu, the highest level Chinese military official to visit in years of rocky relations between the superpowers, holds talks with Gates amid US concerns over China's emergence as a potential high tech military rival. Getty Images logo Getty Images 1 month ago

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (L) greets the People's Republic of China Central Military Commission Vice Chairman General Xu Caihou (R) at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, October 27, 2009. Xu, the highest level Chinese military official to visit in years of rocky relations between the superpowers, holds talks with Gates amid US concerns over China's emergence as a potential high tech military rival.

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  1. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and his South Korean counterpart Kim Tae-young participate in a joint news conference at South Korea's defense ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009. Gates said Thursday that North Korea continues to pose a grave threat to international peace and pledged to protect South Korea with Washington's full military might, including its nuclear capabilities.
  2. Protesters holding portraits of U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and his South Korean counterpart Kim Tae-young shout a slogan during a rally against the Security Consultative Meeting, or SCM, between the U.S. and South Korea in front of the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009. Gates said Wednesday the United States will never accept a North Korea with atomic bombs, saying the communist regime poses threats "even more lethal and destabilizing."
  3. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates (R) shakes hands with his South Korean counterpart Kim Tae-young during Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) at the Defense Ministry in Seoul October 22, 2009. Gates said on Thursday that North Korea poses a threat to his country's allies in North Asia and promised to protect them under the U.S. nuclear deterrent.
  4. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, shakes hands with his South Korean counterpart Kim Tae-young during Security Consultative Meeting or SCM at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009. Gates said Wednesday the United States will never accept a North Korea with atomic bombs, saying the communist regime poses threats "even more lethal and destabilizing."
  5. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, arrives to sign the guest book before meeting South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens looks on at the Government Complex in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009. Gates said Wednesday the United States will never accept a North Korea with atomic bombs, saying the communist regime poses threats "even more lethal and destabilizing" than before.
  6. U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (L) talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo October 20, 2009. The United States wants to stick to a deal on realigning U.S. troops in Japan, Defense Secretary Gates said on Tuesday, giving Japan's new government little room to move on an issue that could test ties.
  7. U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (R) shakes hands with Japan's Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo October 20, 2009. The United States wants to stick to a deal on realigning U.S. troops in Japan, Defense Secretary Gates said on Tuesday, giving Japan's new government little room to move on an issue that could test ties.
  8. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, is seen with Adm. Robert Willard, center, the new head of the U.S. Pacific Command, and Adm. Michael Mullen, right, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a ceremony at Pacific Command headquarters at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, Monday, Oct. 19, 2009. A fighter pilot who made a cameo appearance as a Tom Cruise foe in "Top Gun" has taken over as the top U.S. military commander in Asia and the Pacific. Willard assumed control of the U.S. Pacific Command in a ceremony presided over by Defense Secretary Gates, who stopped in Hawaii en route to meetings in Japan and South Korea.
  9. US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates(L) and Chariman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen hold a press conference in the briefing room of the Pentagon in Washington, DC November 19, 2009, speaking about the shooting at Fort Hood. Gates on Thursday announced a major review of the Fort Hood shootings to examine if the military had missed warning signs or remained 'vulnerable' to similar assaults. The 45-day review would look at possible 'lapses or problems' before this month's army base shooting that killed 13 people and 'what can we do to prevent something like this from happening again,' Gates told a news conference.
  10. ARLINGTON, VA - NOVEMBER 19: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates holds a news conference at the Pentagon November 19, 2009 in Arlington, Virginia. In the wake of the Ft. Hood attack, Gates announced that former Army Secretary Togo West and former chief of naval operations Adm. Vernon Clark will head the 45-day review of personnel programs, medical screenings and release and discharge policies, as well as the department's stateside security programs at bases and other facilities.
  11. ARLINGTON, VA - NOVEMBER 19: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates holds a news conference at the Pentagon November 19, 2009 in Arlington, Virginia. In the wake of the Ft. Hood attack, Gates announced that former Army Secretary Togo West and former chief of naval operations Adm. Vernon Clark will head the 45-day review of personnel programs, medical screenings and release and discharge policies, as well as the department's stateside security programs at bases and other facilities.
  12. ARLINGTON, VA - NOVEMBER 19: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates holds a news conference at the Pentagon November 19, 2009 in Arlington, Virginia. In the wake of the Ft. Hood attack, Gates announced that former Army Secretary Togo West and former chief of naval operations Adm. Vernon Clark will head the 45-day review of personnel programs, medical screenings and release and discharge policies, as well as the department's stateside security programs at bases and other facilities.
  13. ARLINGTON, VA - NOVEMBER 19: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Admiral Michael Mullen answers questions from reporters during news conference at the Pentagon November 19, 2009 in Arlington, Virginia. In the wake of the Ft. Hood attack, Mullen and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that former Army Secretary Togo West and former chief of naval operations Adm. Vernon Clark will head the 45-day review of personnel programs, medical screenings and release and discharge policies, as well as the department's stateside security programs at bases and other facilities.
  14. ARLINGTON, VA - NOVEMBER 19: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates holds a news conference at the Pentagon November 19, 2009 in Arlington, Virginia. In the wake of the Ft. Hood attack, Gates announced that former Army Secretary Togo West and former chief of naval operations Adm. Vernon Clark will head the 45-day review of personnel programs, medical screenings and release and discharge policies, as well as the department's stateside security programs at bases and other facilities.
  15. US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates holds a press conference in the briefing room of the Pentagon in Washington, DC November 19, 2009, speaking about the shooting at Fort Hood. Gates on Thursday announced a major review of the Fort Hood shootings to examine if the military had missed warning signs or remained 'vulnerable' to similar assaults. The 45-day review would look at possible 'lapses or problems' before this month's army base shooting that killed 13 people and 'what can we do to prevent something like this from happening again,' Gates told a news conference.
  16. ARLINGTON, VA - NOVEMBER 19: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates takes questions from reporters during a news conference at the Pentagon November 19, 2009 in Arlington, Virginia. In the wake of the Ft. Hood attack, Gates announced that former Army Secretary Togo West and former chief of naval operations Adm. Vernon Clark will head the 45-day review of personnel programs, medical screenings and release and discharge policies, as well as the department's stateside security programs at bases and other facilities.

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