UPDATE 2: Excellent piece here by Politico, on HRC and Gates’ views based on an exchange b/w the two in 2006 confirmation hearings for Gates, a MUST READ..

Clinton: “Let me ask you, Dr. Gates, that in an oral history of the ’92 Gulf War produced by the PBS program ‘Frontline,’ you made some very definite points about how the military often overstates or even in your words, “’exaggerate the level of forces required to accomplish a specific objective.’ I’m concerned that’s precisely the attitude that we’ve heard from Secretary [Donald] Rumsfeld, former Deputy Secretary [Paul] Wolfowitz and others with regard to former Army Chief of Staff] Gen. [Eric] Shinseki’s recommendation and many in the uniformed military and civilian experts, who have consistently beat the drum that we don’t have enough troops, we never had enough troops.

“So therefore, how will you take that set of recommendations from your uniformed military on board and figure out how you’re going to assess it, given your previously stated position that it’s often exaggerated when we look at missions to accomplish?”

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