US senate confirms support for new defence secretary

The US senate tonight voted overwhelmingly to confirm Robert Gates as the new defence secretary, with members of both parties strongly backing him as the man who will replace Donald Rumsfeld and help overhaul President Bush’s war policies in Iraq.

The 95-2 vote to approve Gates, coupled with today’s release of an independent study lambasting Mr Bush’s approach to the costly conflict, added pressure on the president to rethink US strategy in Iraq.