September 16, 2007 (LPAC)--One of the most important appearances on the Sunday talking heads shows was Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who made several important declarations today on FOX-TV. Iran: Confronted by Chris Wallace on statements by Gen. Petraeus that Iran was training insurgents inside Iran, Gates flatly said there is a "question...of just how much intelligence we have" on that allegation, and that the "general view" is that we can manage Iran "inside the borders of Iraq" and we "don't need to go across the border into Iran." He also insisted that "the President believes at this point that dealing with Iran" through the "diplomatic and economic approach is the one that we are pursuing."

· troop withdrawal: Gates, acting very much a "team player," said he hopes that the withdrawals continue past the July '08 that Petraeus said at Congress, and that he never specifically used the 100,000 remaining troops figure attributed to him, but rather that came from a questioner;

· Webb amendment: Gates admitted, in essence, that the Army and Marines are already destroyed. He would support a Bush veto against the "equal dwell time/combat time" rule because if it were policy—as it was in the Vietnam, Korean, and other U.S. wars—today, there would be "gaps," i.e., no units to fill the positions when soldiers left the combat area.