Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (2nd L) attends his swearing-in ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, Dec. 18, 2006. From L-R are: President Bush, Gates, his wife, Becky Gates, and Vice President Dick Cheney .(Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    Uphill tasks ahead

    Gates took office amid a wide-ranging administration 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.

    Last Wednesday, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly endorsed the nomination of Gates as the country's new defense secretary.

    On Nov. 6, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly endorsed the nomination of Gates as the country's new defense secretary.

    Senators from both parties said the former CIA director is candid, largely because he told them that the country was not winning the war in Iraq.

    They also expected him to face an uphill task, given the situation in Iraq.

    Gates served for 26 years in CIA and the National Security Council. Under President George H. W. Bush, he served as CIA director.

    Soft-spoken but tough-minded, the new defense secretary is seen as in many ways the antithesis of Rumsfeld, the brash leader he would replace.

    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 released a key report to recommend major policy changes in Iraq early this month.