Robert M. Gates
U.S. Secretary of Defense
Secretary Gates has served as U.S. secretary of defense since December 18, 2006. He was director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1991 to 1993. The following is excerpted from Secretary Gates’s June 17, 2010, testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the New START Treaty. America’s nuclear arsenal remains a vital pillar of our national security, deterring potential adversaries and reassuring allies and partners. As such, the first step of the year-long Nuclear Posture Review was an extensive analysis which, among other things, determined how many nuclear delivery vehicles and deployed warheads were needed. This in turn provided…
