Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters after his visit with Iraqi officials that he had emphasized the US commitment to Iraq “is long-term but it is not a commitment to have our young men and women patrolling Iraq’s streets open-endedly.” Gates encouraged them—before taking a summer recess—to pass needed legislation that would “manifest the will of the entire government of Iraq to be a government for all of the people of Iraq in the future.”
Billy Mitchell: Lessons a Hundred Years Hence
Dec. 16, 2025
Exactly 100 years ago, on Dec. 17, 1925, Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell was convicted by court-martial for violating an order that required approval before he could engage with the media. Mitchell’s provocative thoughts and unorthodox methods sought attention for a cause that he saw as uniquely American.
