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Bob Gates on the GOP field: 'They don’t know what they’re talking about'

By Nolan D. McCaskill

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday blasted the Republican field for their rhetoric on destroying the Islamic State.

“First of all they, they don’t know what they’re talking about,” Gates told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Front-runner Donald Trump has said as president he would “bomb the s---” out of the Islamic State, while rival Ted Cruz has suggested carpet bombing them into oblivion.

“Carpet bombing would be completely useless. It’s totally contrary to the American way of war,” said Gates, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush and also served under President Barack Obama. “Total disregard for civilians. So, I mean, part of the concern that I have with the campaign, particularly when it comes to national security, is that the solutions being offered are so simplistic and so at odds with the reality of the rest of the world, with the way the world really works.”

Alluding to political outsiders Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Gates challenged their ability to be an effective president. “I will tell you this: I do think that politics is a profession,” he said. “And I think that if you don’t have any experience in how government works, if you have never been in government, your ability to make the government work is going to be significantly reduced."

“It’s different than business,” he continued. “It’s different than surgery. It’s different than anything else. It’s a skill set that you bring based on experience and based on dealing with other people.”

In December, Gates, who is promoting a new book on leadership, wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post outlining his take on "the kind of president we need."

Asked on "Morning Joe" whether any candidate had met his criteria, Gates said, "I don’t see any.”