Instead, as one longtime observer of US-Russian relations reminded me the other day, in Gates, a veteran Cold Warrior, you have “an establishment figure with the longest institutional involvement in our failed Russia policies of anyone in DC.” ~Katrina vanden Heuvel

Well, yes, as I noted earlier, but even without Gates you have Biden and…Obama, who are both entirely on board with our failed Russia policies. Looked at this way, why wouldn’t they want someone like Gates at the Pentagon? Bill Richardson probably guaranteed that he would not get the State appointment when he made it clear earlier this year that he had at least half a clue regarding Russia when he said, “The problem, though, is that we don’t have the kind of influence and strength in our relationship with Russia to persuade them.” Keeping Gates on is one way to make sure that we won’t have these things in the future.