Former US spy chief takes over Pentagon

Robert Gates is taking over as US secretary of defence at a crucial juncture in the Iraq war, a conflict that cost Donald Rumsfeld his job and likely will define Gates’ Pentagon tenure.

Gates was scheduled to take the oath of office today in a private event at the White House in Washington, then heading to a public swearing-in ceremony at the Pentagon at 1.15pm (6.15pm Irish time), where the military brass and senior civilian officials are eager to see what changes he may bring.

When President George Bush announced last month that he was switching Pentagon chiefs, he said he wanted “fresh perspective” on Iraq, acknowledging the current approach was not working well enough.

Rumsfeld was a chief architect of the war strategy and still defends the decision to invade in March 2003.

Gates, 63, takes office amid a wide-ranging administration review of its approach to the war.

Bush said last week that he would wait until January to announce his new strategy, to give Gates a chance to offer advice.