Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War (102 page)

President Bush and I say our farewells in the Oval Office a few days before the end of his presidency.

One editorial cartoonist properly captures the venality of certain members of Congress, and another depicts the reaction to my announcement that I wanted to kill or cap three dozen major weapons and equipment programs.

With General David McKiernan, commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. He was a fine officer, but I relieved him on this visit.

Speaking to a group of Marines in Helmand province, Afghanistan, with the ever-present backdrop of MRAPs, a life-saving vehicle I championed. I would take an individual picture with every soldier and Marine present on such visits.

President Barack Obama was always friendly and gracious toward me, even when we disagreed.

Briefing President Obama in the Oval Office with JCS vice chairman Cartwright, perhaps Obama’s favorite general.

A U.S. ground-based interceptor missile in its silo at Fort Greely, Alaska. The GBIs there are the heart of our missile defense against limited threats from North Korea and Iran.

A press briefing aboard an E
₄
B en route to Singapore. The plane, a converted Boeing 747, was dubbed by the crew “The Big Brisket” in recognition of my fondness for barbecue, which was often served on these flights.

CBS correspondent Bob Schieffer, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and I share a laugh while taping a joint interview at the Pentagon. She was a terrific colleague and a highly valued one—not least for her sense of humor.

With two presidents in a dressing room at Texas A&M University. Obama supported George H. W. Bush’s Points of Light Foundation. They were the sixth and eighth presidents I worked for.

Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai and I always had a warm relationship, even when he was bitterly criticizing the United States. Many of his outbursts were provoked by our failure to heed concerns he voiced in private—and by internal politics in Afghanistan.

Talking with troops in Kabul. They never failed to inspire and reenergize me.