The Senate Armed Services Committee approved Robert Gates nomination 21-0 in a one day rubberstamp hearing... Just exactly what was the hurry, Democrats? What about Iran-Contra? What about IraqGate? What about fixed inteligence to fit the policy? What about conflict of interest oil-business ties? GMAFB, another rubberstamp whitewash...

Senate Panel Approves Gates - At Confirmation Hearing, Defense Pick Says U.S. Is Not Winning in Iraq = Robert M. Gates was unanimously approved by a Senate committee yesterday to become President Bush's new defense secretary, after a day-long confirmation hearing in which he bluntly stated that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq. Gates also told the panel that "it's too soon to tell" whether the Bush administration made the right decision in launching the invasion in March 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein. In confirmation hearings that left both Democrats and Republicans praising his candor, Gates warned that the war risks provoking a "regional conflagration" in the Middle East unless a new strategy can arrest Iraq's slide toward chaos...

"My greatest worry, if we mishandle the next year or two and if we leave Iraq in chaos, is that . . . we will have a regional conflict on our hands," he said. "You could have Saudi Arabia, you could have Turkey, Syria, Iran -- all would be involved. We're already seeing Hezbollah involved in training fighters for Iraq. I think all of that could spread fairly dramatically."

Gates's cordial reception by the Senate Armed Services Committee signals he will almost certainly be confirmed as the nation's 22nd defense secretary. He would replace Donald H. Rumsfeld, who announced his resignation a day after the Nov. 7 elections, in which Democrats regained control of Congress. Gates's view that the United States is not winning the war stood in sharp contrast to Bush's own statement on Oct. 25, when he declared, "Absolutely, we're winning."

"What we heard this morning was a welcome breath of honest, candid realism about the situation in Iraq," Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) said during a midday break. Levin, who will become committee chairman next month, said this "bodes well . . . for a speedy confirmation."....