WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Robert Gates, a former CIA director and long-time associate of the Bush family, was sworn in as new U.S. defense secretary Monday.
Gates, 63, took the oath of office in a private event early in the day at the White House, before heading to a public swearing-in ceremony at the Pentagon.
The changing of the guard at the Pentagon is taking place at a crucial juncture in the Iraq war, a conflict that cost Donald Rumsfeld the job of defense secretary and will likely define Gates' tenure.
When U.S. President George W. Bush announced last month that he will change the Pentagon chief, he said he wanted a "fresh perspective" on Iraq, acknowledging that the current approach was "not working well enough."
Rumsfeld was the chief architect of the war strategy and still defends the decision to invade Iraq in March 2003.
Gates took office as the Bush administration conducted a wide-ranging review of its approach to the war.
Bush said last week that he would wait until January to announce his new strategy, to give the new defense secretary a chance to offer advice.
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly endorsed the nomination of Gates as the country's new defense secretary.
Senators from both parties said the former spy chief was candid, largely because he told them that the country was not winning the war in Iraq.
They expect him to face a uphill task, given the situation in Iraq.
Gates served for 26 years in the CIA and on the National Security Council. He served as CIA director under President GeorgeH. W. Bush,
Softly-spoken but tough-minded, the new defense secretary is seen as the antithesis of Rumsfeld, the brash leader he has replaced.
Gates has been critical of the Bush administration's failure to execute its military and political plans for Iraq, and has spent time debating new approaches to the war as a member of the Iraq Study Group, the bipartisan panel which earlier this month released a key report recommending major policy changes in Iraq.
