Continuity or Change?

From Texas A&M to the CIA (or vice versa), that seems to be the question surrounding Robert Gates. Michael Barone has read Gates's memoir, From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War, and posts an interesting report. Barone's conclusion: "The picture I get of Robert Gates from his book is that of a careful analyst, one who sees American foreign policy as generally and rightly characterized by continuity but one who sees the need for bold changes in response to rapid changes in the world--and doesn't look for answers from the government bureaucracies. He is very much aware that we have dangerous enemies in the world, and he was willing over many years to confront them and try to check their advance." (A new edition of the book is due in January.)

Posted by Virginia Postrel on November 26, 2006