Robert Gates

Yes.

On how they are that way.

Well, I say in the book that the effect of the red light on a television camera going on has the same effect on members of Congress as a full moon does on werewolves.

One of the points that I make in the book is that in recent decades,

I believe presidents, when confronted with a foreign challenge or a foreign problem, have been too quick to reach for a gun to solve it.

I said in another book I wrote 15 years ago that the dirty little secret in Washington is that the biggest doves wear uniforms because they have seen war and they have seen the consequences.

And they have also been sent into battle, sent into conflict.

and seen political support evaporate because of political leadership, the lack of political leadership or whatever.

So one of the themes in the book is that we need to be a lot more careful when we deploy our forces and when we use military force and be willing to admit that we don't understand unintended consequences and that we know very little usually about our adversaries.

And we make assumptions like all wars will be short and we'll be in and out.

That's 12 years after we went into Afghanistan.

So I think there are some cautionary tales in the book that I hope will have some relevance as we look at the problem in Syria, we look at the issues with Iran that you were discussing.

Well, we have more power than anyone else in the world.

I do believe we're an indispensable nation.

There's really not any major international problem that can be solved without the United States being involved or leading the effort.

But the reality is we can't solve every problem.

And every time there is an oppression or some terrible thing happens internationally, the answer is not necessarily to send in American troops.

We need to pay more attention.

I write in the book that the only bureaucracy in Washington that is even more intractable than the Department of Defense is Veterans Affairs.

And you can have, I think, a very effective secretary like General Shinseki, who is the secretary now and has been since the beginning of the administration, who is absolutely committed to getting things right.