Pentagon
25 January 2008
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he discussed U.S. military policy toward Africa with Irish rock star Bono during a short meeting at his Pentagon office earlier this week. The secretary provided some details of the meeting during a news conference Thursday and VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.
U.S. officials say that will not happen. And Secretary Gates says during their meeting Bono referred to a speech he gave in November that called for an increase in U.S. government civilian engagement overseas.
"To be honest about it, he had read my speech at Kansas State [University] and had liked a lot what I said about lso strengthening the non-military side of the U.S. face abroad," he said.
In that speech, Secretary Gates called for "a dramatic increase" in U.S. government spending on "the civilian instruments of national security," which he defined as "diplomacy, strategic communications, foreign assistance, civic action and economic reconstruction and development."
The unusual image of a U.S. defense secretary meeting with a rock star, and having a serious policy discussion, received worldwide attention. Secretary Gates said he was "impressed" with Bono, and called him "a very serious guy" who was "very well informed." But although he is a former university president, the 63-year-old defense secretary admitted he is not familiar with Bono's musical career.
"First of all, I have to tell you, it's a matter of age that I thought U2 was an airplane," said Gates.
The U2 is an American high-altitude spy plane, which was particularly prominent during the Cold War, including the time when Secretary Gates was the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.