Gates warns U.S. enemies not to test Obama

In a surprise visit to the Middle East Saturday, Defense
Secretary Robert Gates warned U.S. enemies that they would test President-elect Obama
at their own peril.

“Anyone who thought that the upcoming months might
present opportunities to ‘test’ the new president would be sorely mistaken,” Gates
said in Bahrain.

{mosads}“President Obama and his national security team, myself
included, will be ready to defend the interests of the United States and our
friends and allies from the moment he takes office on Jan. 20.”

Vice President-elect Joe Biden had said before the
election that Obama would be tested early in his presidency.

Gates, the only current Cabinet member expected to keep
his post, was in Bahrain speaking with Persian Gulf leaders at a conference on
regional security. He reassured them that Obama is committed to furthering
stability and security in the region and that he is aware of Iran’s
destabilizing tendencies.

“The president-elect and his team are under no illusions
about Iran’s behavior and what Iran has been doing in the region and apparently
is doing with weapons programs,” Gates said.

Gates also made a stop in Iraq on Saturday to meet with U.S.
troops and the top American military commander, Gen. Ray Odierno.

According to a new security pact approved this month,
U.S. troops have to leave urban areas in Iraq by next June and leave the
country in three years.

Obama has said previously that he will gauge his actions
in Iraq based on the advice he receives from American commanders in the
country, but that he would also like to see combat forces leave Iraq within the
next 16 months.