The U.S. Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly confirmed Robert Gates as the next defense secretary, replacing Donald Rumsfeld, an architect of the increasingly unpopular Iraq war. The Senate voted 95-2 to approve President George W. Bush’s nominee only 24 hours after Gates won the unanimous endorsement of the Armed Services Committee — and just as a long-awaited bipartisan report arrived, urging more diplomacy and fewer U.S. troops in Iraq. Full Story