Summary

In Chapter 13, Gates writes about the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq on August 31, 2010. In speeches and interviews, both he and the president avoided saying we had won, but focused on the huge sacrifices made by both U.S. troops and the Iraqi people, and said history would show the long-term effects. Gates and Vice-President Biden then went to Iraq to preside over the inauguration of the new U.S. training and advisory mission there. Gates writes that relations between White House officials and the Defense Department were very strained over the topic of Afghanistan, with administration officials accusing the Pentagon of misleading the president and expanding the mission, although he admits that Defense personnel sometimes contributed to White House suspicions. Gates tried to work with the Pakistani leadership but it seemed impossible to make progress as...