US Senate overwhelmingly backs Gates for Pentagon
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