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U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates touched down at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan on Tuesday during a surprise trip to visit troops.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates touched down at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan on Tuesday during a surprise trip to visit troops.
The visit comes one day after Gates said he was "not particularly optimistic" that Congress would soon repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning openly gay and lesbian personnel from the military.
"Before a change in the law, we would have to certify that we've made enough preparations that it wouldn't affect unit cohesion, morale, retention and recruiting, and so on," he continued. "The legislation would give us (a) great deal of flexibility. I am not particularly optimistic, though, that it will get done. We'll see."
In September, Gates traveled to Afghanistan to meet with political and military officials -- including Afghan President Hamid Karzai -- and said the United States' relationship with Afghanistan will be a long-term one.
"Americans will still be here after July 2011," Gates said during the September trip. "The president has been very clear that that is the beginning of a process, and the pace will be determined by conditions on the ground in Afghanistan."
But, he said, "the American people need to know we are not still going to be fighting this fight 15 years from now."