 wanted, Gates
observed, paralleled those Kennedy sought in 1962 when he told West Point's
graduating class, "Your military responsibilities will require a versatility
and an adaptability never before required in war or in peace."

Gates was right about the premise underlying his and Kennedy's speeches. By
1962, Kennedy had reached the conclusion that second world war-style battles
were giving way to an era of unconventional warfare. Nearly a half-century
later, Gates found himself updating Kennedy:

&gt; "In my opinion, any future defence secretary who advises the president to
again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or
Africa should 'have his head examined', as General MacArthur so delicately put
it."

But as important as the parallels between Kennedy's thinking and Gates's
thinking are, the differences are much greater. West Point's grads could ...<br style="clear: both;" /><div>Share With Friends: <a href="http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/share/top-news/world-news/65610210?client_source=feed&amp;share_type=0&amp;format=rss" title="Share on Facebook" target="_blank"><img src="http://cache.addthiscdn.com/icons/v1/thumbs/facebook.gif" width="16" height="16" alt="Share on Facebook" style="border:0; veritcal-align:middle; border: 0px; text-align: absbottom; margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 2px;" />

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