Gates: US Air Force should do more to help Iraq and Afghanistan war effort

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday the US Air Force was not doing enough to help in the Iraq and Afghanistan war effort, complaining that some military leaders were "stuck in old ways of doing business." Gates said in a speech that getting the military services, largely the Air Force, to send more unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft to Iraq and Afghanistan has been "like pulling teeth." Addressing officer students at the Air Force's Air University, the Pentagon chief praised the Air Force for its overall contributions but made a point of urging it to do more and to undertake new and creative ways of thinking about helping the war effort instead of focusing mainly on future threats. While Gates' comments were directed mainly at the Air Force, his concern about faster fielding of unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft included a broader appeal to the entire military. "In my view we can do and we should do more to meet the needs of men and women fighting in the current conflicts while their outcome may still be in doubt," he said. "My concern is that our services are still not moving aggressively in wartime to provide resources needed now on the battlefield."