Lesser Evil

Defense Secretary Robert Gates yesterday said he is looking forward to talking with Congress about his recent program decisions, partly because he believes there is "some misunderstanding about the nature" of these decisions among lawmakers.

Lawmakers' reactions to a raft of program terminations and realignments, announced earlier this month, weren't altogether kind.

In his speech at the Army War College in Carlisle, PA, Gates let audience members in on some of the finer insight into decision-making at the highest levels of government.

Whenever a decision requires the authority of the president or the defense secretary, "more often than not, you're having to choose the least bad option," Gates said.

"If there was a good option, somebody at a lower level would have made the decision and taken credit for it," he said.