"There are no two people in government who appreciate the gravity of the decisions that are being discussed and that will ultimately be made than the Secretary of Defense and the President of the United States.

VOA: standard.2009.09.23

Notwithstanding the beefing up of U.S. forces there, the United States in the person of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has signaled an openness towards accepting the sort of deal for the Afghans that the Pakistanis have now acquiesced to in the Swat Valley.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy

Mr. LARRY WILKERSON: What I saw was a cabal between the vice president of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, on critical issues that made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made.

NPR: Ex-Powell Staffer Discusses Cheney Role in Iraq War

Mr. DONALD RUMSFELD (Secretary of Defense, United States): Those reports have been flying around since about four months I assumed my post in 2001.

NPR: Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Self-Defense