Gates: my words have been distorted.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: Defense Insider

The military brass, news media and defense industry obsessively deconstruct Defense Secretary Robert Gates' speeches and view them as signposts for what's coming next.

Too bad that his words are sometimes misunderstood, Gates lamented.

"My message to the services is being distorted by some and misunderstood by others," he told Air Force cadets earlier this month. "At the Navy League last year, I suggested that the Navy should think anew about the role of aircraft carriers and the size of amphibious modernization programs. The speech was characterized by some as my doubting the value of carriers and amphibious assault capabilities altogether.

"At West Point last week I questioned the wisdom of sending large land armies into major conflicts in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and suggested the Army should think about the number and role of its heavy armored formations for the future. That has been interpreted as my questioning the need for the Army at all, or at least one its present size, the value of heavy armor generally, and the even the wisdom of...