Harry Reid’s remark in 2007 that the Iraq War was “lost” while troops were still on the ground was one of the “most disgraceful” things Robert Gates has heard in all his years of public service, Gates told the hosts of Morning Joe on Wednesday.
“The troops believed and believe that they were being successful in their mission, so I think they were able, to a certain extent, to set aside the politics here at home,” said the former defense secretary. “Although, and I make the point in the book, when you have somebody like the Senate majority leader come out in the middle of the surge and say, ‘This war is lost,’ I thought that was one of the most disgraceful things I’ve heard a politician say.”