Current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will be asked by President-elect Obama to stay in that position, likely for about one year according to multiple media sources. Gates is a former CIA Director, as well as a close friend of the Bush family. He is also closely associated with Brent Scowcroft, former national security advisor to George H.W. Bush. Scowcroft has reportedly been an informal advisor to President-elect Obama, a rather intriguing matchup. Scowcroft was an opponent of the Iraq war, and a critic of the foreign policy of George W. Bush. He has waged ideological war on the neo-cons that populated Bush 43’s cabinet. Obama continues his tack towards the center, and a moderate foreign policy based on “realism”.