Who is robert gates?
President Bush announced at the White House Wednesday that he would nominate Robert Gates to replace outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. In an interview with Neal Conan, host of Talk of the Nation, NPR intelligence correspondent Mary Louise Kelly talks about Gates, the former head of the CIA and a veteran of the first Bush administration. Neal Conan: Tell us a little bit about Robert Gates. Mary Louise Kelly: He certainly knows his way around Washington circles. He has served on the National Security Council. He was Brent Scowcroft’s deputy there during the first Bush presidency. He’s highly respected in intelligence circles and is known as a loyal servant of the Bush family. He is currently president of Texas A&M University. One other point worth mentioning: This is not the first time President Bush has tried to pull Gates into his administration. Bob Gates was actually the first choice for the new position of national intelligence director when that job was created last year.