The United States is not losing, but not winning either?

Robert Gates, President Bush's nominee to run the Pentagon, was approved unanimously by a the Senate Armed Services Committee today. After five hours of questioning, the panel headed by Senator John Warner (R-VA), voted 21-0 to approve Gates. The full Senate is expected to vote by the end of the week.

According to an Associated Press article, Robert Gates said, if he is approved, he plans to visit U.S. commanders, and troops in Iraq soon. Gates also went on to say that the progress in Iraq is not satisfactory, and the U.S. needs a new strategy, but didn't commit to anything specific:

"What we are now doing is not satisfactory. In my view, all options are on the table in terms of how we address this problem in Iraq." He did not commit to any specific new course, saying he would consult first with commanders and others.

Gates was also asked by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) if he thought the United States was winning in Iraq, to which he responsed "no, sir." "At this point," he went on to say that the United States is neither winning nor losing. I would agree with him on that point. The United States is certainly NOT WINNING, but we have not yet lost either, although I'm not sure if we'll ever achieve our original goals. As I mentioned the other day though, the White House may launch a plan to "dumb down Americans," and their expectations, to avoid the appearance of losing.

Levin responded to Gates' answers at the hearing this morning calling them a "welcome breath of honest, candid realism."

When White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was pressed on whether Gates and Bush had differing opinions on Iraq (which any idiot can clearly see that they DO):

Snow said that Gates' testimony, taken in its entirety, showed he shares Bush's view that the U.S. must help Iraq govern and defend itself.

"I know you want to pit a fight between Bob Gates and the president, it doesn't exist," Snow told reporters.

Sorry Tony, but no one is trying to "pit a fight" between Gates, and Bush, although it is pretty funny that you try and turn a perfectly logical question into such nonsense, to avoid having to give an intelligent answer.

Another question raised was whether Gates would be able to provide Bush with "independent" advice, not just be yet another rubber stamp to the administration, to which Gates told the panel:

"I did not give up my position as president of Texas A&M University and return to Washington to be a bump on a log."

We'll see. Frankly, I'm not convinced that a long time family friend of the Bush's, is going to be anything more than a rubber stamp to an administration that has clearly failed in Iraq. However, I hope Gates is indeed that independent voice that has been needed within the administration for some time now. I'll be pleasantly surprised though, if he is.