Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War

Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War is a 618 page nonfiction book written by Robert M. Gates, a former U.S. Secretary of Defense. It was published in January 2014 by Alfred A. Knopf. The time period is from 2006 to 2011, and includes the George W. Bush administration (2006–2009), the Obama administration (2009–2011), the Afghan war, and the Iraq war.

Narrated in first person point of view, this record of events characterizes Secretary Gates' personal interactions with the U.S. Congress, the Pentagon's management structure, some military bureaucrats and the White House staff under President Obama. This memoir is also the first to recount the Obama administration’s policy discussions and debates during Presidential cabinet meetings.

Mr. Gates commentary
As expressed in the book, disagreements with Mr. Obama’s White House staff and the other aforementioned organizations elicit strong emotions and criticisms from Mr. Gates. For example, President Obama's White House staff is seen as an imperious entity, who, as a group, are seen as "micromanagers" that engaged in "operational meddling". Additionally, Vice President Joseph Biden's performance is criticized. Yet, at the same time, Mr. Biden is personally held in high regard. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's is held in high regard professionally and personally. She in fact was usually in agreement with Mr. Gates on policy issues.

President Obama is judged favorably at first, and not so favorably by 2011. However, towards the end of the book, Mr. Gates states that Mr. Obama's decision to send an United States Navy SEALs team after Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan was "one of the most courageous decisions I had ever witnessed in the White House". He also states that the Mr. Obama's policy decisions pertaining to the "overall Afghan strategy" were correct. He also criticizes the George W. Bush administration's Afghan war, Iraq war, and Guantanamo Bay policies.

The veteran
Mr. Gates came to the Obama Administration as a "respected professional and veteran of decades at the center of American foreign policy". As a Republican, he also represented President Obama's policy of bipartisanism. Over time, however, his relationship with Obama and his staff devolved. Protracted policy disagreements with Vice President Biden, Tom Donilon (national security advisor), and Army lieutenant general Douglas E. Lute (afghan policy) are, additionally recounted.

Criticisms of the book
While Secretary of Defense, Mr. Gates was not authentically forthcoming about situations in front of him.